


Pace

by mahbecks



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Banter, Chill XV, Eventual Sexual Content, Fluff, Happy Ending, Humor, M/M, Pining, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-03-26
Packaged: 2018-09-22 07:12:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9590525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mahbecks/pseuds/mahbecks
Summary: Noctis tells Prompto that he wants to run a half-marathon. While Prompto is a bit taken aback by this (Noctis running? Really?), he's not going to turn down the opportunity to spend more time with his friend - for whom he may or may not have feelings.Ignis needs to find a new gym after his old one closes down. What he didn't expect was to have a handsome, flirtatious personal trainer make it his personal mission to put some muscle on him.Modern AU revolving around running and fitness, where Gladio is a personal trainer and Prompto a semi-professional runner.





	1. Week 1, Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> Otherwise known as the Fitness AU I didn't know I wanted to write. 
> 
> Will loosely follow in-game events, but in a modern setting, and with a completely happy ending. OH, and lots of fluff. The boys are a little older here than they are in the game, but still in their twenties. I'm planning to focus on developing both relationships over the course of the story; it won't be as if one is implied and the other is kept in the spotlight. This is my first time writing an explicit Prompto x Noctis fic, so please bear with me here. 
> 
> I may change the rating to Explicit later on, depending on if I'm in the mood. We'll see.

“I want to run a half-marathon.”

Prompto nearly choked on his water. “Uh, come again?” he spluttered.

Noctis repeated his statement, looking for all the world as if he truly meant it. But he couldn’t have meant it; there was just no way. Prompto had known Noctis for a long time and never once had he mentioned a desire to run for any extended period of time. In fact, Noct had never mentioned a desire to run _at all_ , full stop.

So what was this about?

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I am.” Noctis picked up the menu in front of him, giving it a cursory glance before letting it fall back to the table. “Is that so hard to believe?”

“Uh, yeah. It kinda is.” Prompto stared at his friend for a moment, wondering what to make of this sudden announcement. “I mean, I’m all for it. Obviously, I’ve been trying to get you to run with me for years.”

“That’s why I’m telling you this,” Noctis said. “I want you to help me train.”

“Sure!” Prompto said, agreement coming easily to him. Of course he would help Noct train for a race. He’d have been a little insulted if Noct _hadn’t_ come to him for advice, to be honest. And it wasn’t as if he wasn’t going to be training anyways. He had a whole slew of races lined up for the year; he could help Noct pick a race and then they could run it together.

He’d just have to let his sponsors know that that race was just for fun, or else they'd penalize him for it.

“When do you want to start training?”

“Uh… how about tomorrow?”

Prompto laughed. Typical Noct. “Okay. I’ll take you to my gym, and we can sign you up for a membership.”

Noctis blinked. “We can’t run outside?” he asked.

“We will once the weather eases up a bit,” Prompto replied, “but it’s a death trap out there now. Ice, snow, all that road salt… we’d trip and break something! Or, at least, I would. You might not.”

“Does that mean running on treadmills?” Noctis scrunched his nose up in distaste.

Prompto hastily replied, lest he turn Noct off to the whole idea of running just after he’d finally agreed to try it. “There’s an indoor track too! I only do treadmill runs for speed work.”

This seemed to satisfy his friend, for he said nothing more on the matter.

A few moments later, Noctis looked down at his watch, frowning. “I wonder where Ignis is,” he murmured. “It’s not like him to be late…”

Ignis.

Prompto had completely forgotten that Noctis’ other friend was meeting them for lunch. It had been banished from his mind at the talk of Noctis running. But now that he mentioned it, it was odd that the other was late. Prompto didn’t know Ignis very well, of course, but he’d never known the man to be tardy for anything.

“Maybe he got stuck in traffic?” he suggested.

Noct seemed to accept this idea, nodding slowly. “The roads _are_ terrible,” he allowed.

They waited in companionable silence for a few more minutes, during which time the waitress came back and refilled Prompto’s water and Noctis’ soda. He would really have to get on Noct’s case about that, Prompto realized as he watched the other down half the soda in one swallow. It really wasn’t good to drink a lot of heavily sugared drinks when you were training. At least, not in the quantities that Noct usually consumed.

“Hey, look, he’s here,” Noctis said suddenly, drawing Prompto’s attention. He looked over to the door and saw the familiar form of Ignis, sculpted light brown hair slightly mussed from the snow. He pushed his glasses up on his nose, looking around until he caught sight of him. As he approached their table, Prompto noticed that he looked annoyed.

“Hello, Noctis, Prompto,” Ignis said quietly, removing his coat and putting it on the back of his chair before he sat. “I apologize for being late. There was an accident on the freeway, and it slowed everything down to a crawl for miles.”

“No worries,” Prompto said, smiling. “We haven’t even ordered yet.”

Ignis turned to Noctis, looking slightly guilty. “You shouldn’t have waited for me,” he admonished.

“Too late now,” Noctis said, shrugging.

The waitress returned to their table again and asked what Ignis would like to drink. “Coffee, black, if you please,” he said politely, and then turned to the others, indicating that they should order their lunch now. Predictably, Noct ordered a cheeseburger, no tomato, lettuce, or onion. Prompto chose a Cobb salad, with the dressing on the side, and Ignis ordered some sort of vegetable wrap with sprouts and avocado.

Once they were alone again, Noctis turned to Ignis. “So, you’re pissed about something,” he said.

“I am not _pissed_ ,” Ignis stressed. “I am highly frustrated.”

“Same difference.”

“My old gym just closed, if you must know,” Ignis continued. “The owner’s mother's health has taken a turn for the worse, and he's decided to sell the facility so that he can be there for her.”

“Man, that’s rough,” Prompto said in commiseration. “Is she sick?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Ignis replied. “I believe she's just getting on in years.”

“So what are you gonna do?” Noct asked.

“Well, I suppose I’ll have to look around for a new facility.” Ignis sighed, taking a sip of his coffee. “I fully understand the owner’s situation, and I'm not unsympathetic. But that gym was simply superb, and I'm rather dismayed that it’s closing.”

“What was so great about it?” Prompto queried.

“It was painstakingly clean, for one thing. And for another, the clientele was a bit older, a bit more reserved.”

“So you liked it because no one came up and tried to talk to you,” Noctis guessed.

“I’m there to exercise, Noct, not to discuss the weather.”

“No, no, I get it.”

“I don’t suppose you have a gym you could recommend to me, do you?” Ignis asked, looking at Noctis.

“Well, actually…”

Ignis put his coffee down. “I was joking,” he said flatly. “You don’t actually have a gym membership somewhere, do you?”

“Not yet.”

“And what does that mean?”

“He’s signing up tomorrow!” Prompto supplied. Ignis turned to look at him. “At my gym!”

“...your gym?”

“Yeah, it’s the one over by the stadium? Open twenty-four seven?”

“I don’t think I’m familiar with it.”

“Oh, it’s nice! It’s got lots of treadmills and workout equipment, and an indoor track, and some lap pools if you like swimming. There’s also lots of personal trainers if you want someone to make guided workout plans for you.”

“Hmm.” Ignis seemed to be considering this, tapping the side of his coffee cup absently. “And the monthly rate?”

“There are different packages you can get. The cheapest one is only fifteen bucks a month, but there are more expensive deals if you want special perks.”

“Special perks?” Noctis repeated.

“Yeah! Like if you wanna bring unlimited guests. And you get access to this sweet spa! There’s a sauna, and masseuses, and even some awesome hydrotherapy tables!”

Ignis turned to Noctis. “And you’re joining up, Noct?” he asked. “Whatever for?”

Noctis mumbled something under his breath.

“Come again?” Ignis leaned forward in his chair. “I didn’t catch that.”

“Iwannarunahalfmarathon.”

“Slower, please, and enunciate.”

“I want to run a half marathon.”

Ignis blinked at him. “You can’t be serious,” he said finally.

“Oh, he is!” Prompto said enthusiastically. He nudged his friend with his elbow, trying to get him to confirm this. “Took me a while to convince him, but it seems like he finally wants to run with me!”

“Have you ever run before in your life?” Ignis asked incredulously. 

“No,” Noctis retorted. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t.”

“Of course not.”

Their food arrived then, putting a stop to that conversation before it could get too heated. The quiet gave Prompto time to think. Now that the surprise had worn off, he was very excited that he would get to spend more time with Noctis. They’d been inseparable in high school and college, but now that they had jobs and responsibilities, it was harder to get together. That didn’t stop them from meeting up several times a week, of course, but where they’d once done everything as if they were attached at the hip, they were more independent now.

It wasn’t that Prompto didn’t have other friends. He had made lots of running friends over the years, people that he saw at races and chatted with afterwards. Occasionally, he would even train with some of them, and that was a time commitment in and of itself. And Noct had friends too - his father was extremely well-connected in the business world, so he had never lacked opportunities to meet people. But it wasn’t the same.

Prompto wasn’t in love with any of them.

He’d realized what his feelings were in their senior year of college. At the time, Noctis had been dating a lovely girl named Lunafreya. So of course, Prompto hadn’t said anything. He liked Luna, after all, and he would never ruin their happiness. He’d kept the feelings to himself, painfully excusing himself every time Luna would see the two of them and avoiding areas where he knew they liked to hang out. It had been difficult at first, making his heart twinge painfully in his chest every time he saw them together. But it had slowly gotten easier.

And then, right after they had graduated, Noct and Luna had broken things off. Prompto had been shocked; he - and he knew he wasn’t the only one - had thought Noctis was going to marry Luna. All the signs had been pointing in that direction. But they had split up, neither looking the worse for it, and said nothing of the matter. To this day, Prompto hadn’t asked why they had decided just to be friends. It wasn’t his business, and to be frank, the topic dredged up some rather painful memories of his own that he didn’t want to think about.

But he hadn’t taken that as a signal to make a move on his friend. He wasn’t sure how to go about it, for one thing. For another, he wasn’t sure if his feelings would be reciprocated. Noctis hadn’t dated anyone since Luna, and for all Prompto knew, he was quite happy that way.

Most importantly of all, however, he didn’t want to lose Noctis’ friendship. He could live without ever telling Noct how he truly felt. But he didn’t think he could manage without his best friend.

“You done, Prompto?”

“Hmm?” Prompto looked up to see Noctis and Ignis staring at him. “Oh, yeah. I'm done.”

“Dessert?”

“Nah, no thanks,” he said, shaking his head. Dessert was for special occasions, once in a year type things, not for an after-lunch treat.

Of course, Noctis agreeing to run a half-marathon _was_ perhaps a once in a lifetime type thing, but who was counting, really?

“So, Ignis,” Noct said, “wanna meet us at the gym tomorrow? Prom’s gonna help me sign up for a membership. You can check it out, see if you like it.”

Ignis considered this for a moment, and then nodded. “Alright,” he agreed. “What time works for you?”

“Two?”

“Mmm, I have a meeting with my dissertation committee at one-thirty. I’m not certain that it will have ended by two. Could we do three instead?”

“Sure,” Noctis replied.

“Three it is!” Prompto agreed.

They paid the bill soon afterwards and split up, Ignis heading back to the university where he worked and Noctis preparing to go back to his apartment. He had the rest of the day off. Prompto wasn’t so lucky; he had a training run scheduled for this afternoon, and then some strength sessions with his coach. It would be dark before he got to go back to his own place.

“So, what do I need to bring?” Noctis asked suddenly.

“Huh?”

“For tomorrow, when we run,” Noctis clarified. “What do I need?”

“Oh, gotcha! Well, just whatever you want to run in, I guess. Sweats, shorts, a t-shirt, tank top…whatever suits you. And running shoes! Do you have running shoes?”

“I...have a pair of sneakers?”

“What kind?”

“I think they’re Nike.”

“Can I see them?”

“Uh, sure?”

Prompto quickly tried to explain why it was necessary for him to see the shoes, but it looked like it was lost on Noctis. Not to worry - there was a lot more to running than many people thought, and it could be a lot to take in all at once. He could give his friend information as they went along. And anyways, for the first run, any old sneakers would do.

“Thanks for doing this, by the way.”

Prompto smiled, elbowing Noct gently. “Hey, no problem, buddy,” he said. “I’m happy to help!”

“I know it must seem weird.”

“Honestly? A little,” Prompto admitted. “But I’m way more excited that you're actually going to run with me!”

Noctis laughed a little. "I'll try not to slow you down too much," he said.

"Oh, you won't slow me down."

"Prompt, you're a  _semi-professional_ runner now. You're faster than me. Like, a lot faster."

"...okay, maybe a bit."

They had reached their cars by now - Noctis’ an expensive black number his father had given him for his sixteenth birthday, Prompto’s a used red sedan that got great gas mileage.

Noctis was fiddling with his keys, looking as if he wanted to say more. Prompto waited patiently for him to get it out, knowing his friend would come to it eventually. Sure enough, Noctis opened his mouth, a determined look on his face. But then he froze, deflated, and turned away.

“See you later, Prom.”

Prompto tried not to let his disappointment show on his face, instead smiling at his friend as he got into his car.

“Yeah. See you.”

* * * * *

Ignis had to admit, the place looked nice.

He hadn’t been sure what to expect, to be honest. The last time he had frequented a large gym like this, he hadn’t yet finished his bachelor’s degree. He had hated the place, too. It had been filled with overly enthusiastic weight lifters, people who spent more time chatting than actually exercising, and teenagers who had no idea what they were doing. It had been extremely hard to concentrate on his own routine.

This gym, on the other hand, looked much less crowded, and the clientele appeared to be mainly adults. The machines looked new, all dark blue steel and bright lights, and there were sanitizing stations every few feet along the walls. True to Prompto’s word, there were as many machines as could be desired, weight benches and free weights in the front and treadmills, stationary bikes, and ellipticals near the back. Yoga mats lined one entire wall, sitting in tall stacks next to the entrance to a stretching area. A second floor housed an indoor track and what looked to be multi-purpose rooms - for exercise classes, he supposed.

Yes, this would do quite nicely.

“Looking for someone?”

Ignis turned to the side, looking to see who had spoken to him. A very large man had stepped up beside him, a gym bag in one hand and a water bottle in the other. Despite the cold weather, he was dressed only in a (very) form-fitting tank top and sweatpants, exposing his tattooed, very muscular arms. Dark brown hair swept back from his forehead, half of it held back in a tail to keep it out of his face, and he had friendly, amber eyes. There was a scar over one of his eyebrows, and another along the side of his face.

Ignis had to remind himself that he had been asked a question.

“No, thank you.”

The newcomer looked Ignis up and down speculatively, and Ignis had to fight to maintain his straight face. Though he was sure it was a simple once-over, the look felt strangely intimate.

“You new here?”

“I was thinking of joining, yes.”

“You should!” The man smirked. “Your scrawny ass could use some muscle.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“You mainly do cardio, is that it?”

“I do some weight training, thank you,” Ignis retorted. He didn’t like this man’s tone. Where did he get off, calling him _scrawny_? He hadn’t been scrawny since he was in high school.

“But not a lot.”

“Some of us seem to prefer it more than others,” Ignis said pointedly, staring at the other man’s biceps. They looked almost as big around as his thighs.

The newcomer noticed his stare, and he grinned wolfishly. “Yeah? You just prefer muscle on other people, is that it?”

“I -” Ignis broke off, clearing his throat. “I hardly think this is an appropriate conversation to be having with a stranger.”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, guess we are strangers.” The man held his hand out. “Gladiolus Amicitia. Call me Gladio.”

Ignis stiffly took the hand. It was warm, surprisingly not much larger than his own. “Ignis Scientia.”

The man called Gladio studied him for a moment, and then smiled. “So, you gonna sign up for some of my sessions?”

“ _Your_ sessions?”

“I’m a personal trainer here,” Gladio explained. “One of the best.”

“...and what sort of training do you offer?”

“Whatever you want,” he said smoothly. “I can do it all.”

The way he said that made Ignis think he was referring to more than just personal training.

“Well, if I decide that I need assistance, I shall think on contacting you,” Ignis said.

“Yeah?” Gladio smiled at that.

“Do you have a business card?”

Gladio laughed. “I don’t,” he admitted. “Though I keep meaning to get some. Management’s always on my ass about just handin' my number out to people.”

He dropped his bag to the floor. It made a suspicious, metallic sound, and Ignis raised his eyebrows, wondering what exactly this man had in his bag. Gladio seemed unconcerned, however, and pulled a tiny notepad out of a pocket, taking a pen and scrawling something down on a page before ripping it out and handing it to Ignis.

“Here.”

It was a barely legible phone number, along with Gladio’s name. Ignis nodded and pocketed the slip of paper. “Thank you,” he said. “I'll call you if I have need of you.”

“Oh, you can call anytime,” Gladio replied. “Or text me. I’m always up late.”

“Would that be...appropriate?”

“Who cares?”

Gladio picked up his bag then and gave Ignis another little smirk before heading off in the direction of the locker rooms.

Ignis stood there for a moment, processing the conversation he had just had. He had gotten the distinct impression that the trainer had been flirting with him. No, he had gotten more than a mere hint - he was _certain_ that that had been flirting. But should he make anything out of it? Perhaps it was nothing more than the man’s personality. Some people were naturally charming with everyone. It was very possible that Gladio had treated him the same way that he treated everyone else.

He found that he didn’t like that idea.

He was still frowning when Prompto and Noctis came over to join him, having finished completing Noctis’ registration. “Whatcha got there, Ignis?” Prompto asked, looking down at the piece of paper. “Oh, is Gladio gonna train you? Nice!”

“You know him?” Ignis asked sharply, looking over at the blonde.

“Well, yeah, he works here,” Prompto replied. “He’s one of the best too! People are always trying to get on his waiting list, but it’s no good. He handpicks all his clients.”

“I see.”

“He must’ve seen something special in you!”

Ignis wasn’t so sure about that. But he didn’t have much time to ponder it, for Noctis had taken the paper from his hands, staring down at it curiously.

“Wait, Gladio works here? Like, Gladio Amicitia, Gladio?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah?”

“That’s weird,” Noctis said.

“What is?” Ignis prompted.

“He, uh, works for my dad.”

“Huh?!”

“Yeah, as a bodyguard,” Noctis explained. “Only some nights and weekends though. I’ve known him forever.” He blinked. “He never said anything about working here too.”

“Maybe he doesn’t want people to know?” Prompto suggested.

“Yeah, maybe…” Noctis didn't pursue the topic further, turning to Ignis and fixing him with a questioning look. “So how about it, Specs? You think you’re going to sign up too?”

Ignis looked out at the gym floor for a moment. Gladio, he noticed, had reemerged from the locker room, heading over to a group of guys standing in front of a weight bench laden with extremely heavy dumbbells. He greeted them all warmly, slapping arms and bumping shoulders with a few. He seemed to notice someone staring at him, though, for he looked up curiously.

His eyes caught Ignis’, and he smiled. The look made Ignis feel warm all over.

He found that he wanted to see that smile again, despite its slightly frustrating owner.

Ignis turned back to Noctis, who was waiting for his answer.

“Yes, I think I shall.”

“Nice!” Prompto motioned towards the front desk. “They can help you out with all the paperwork and stuff. You want me to stay?”

“No, no, I'll manage on my own,” Ignis said, waving the two younger men off.

“‘Kay. See you later, Ignis!”

“Later, Specs.”

Ignis waited until the other two had entered the locker room before looking back out across the workout room floor. Gladio was working with a client now, his gaze locked on the woman’s form as she completed a set of push-up's. This time he didn’t meet Ignis’ gaze.

It was oddly disappointing. And why should it be? He'd just met the man; he didn't owe Ignis anything, least of all his undivided attention. 

Ignis sighed, heading for the reception desk. 

He hoped that this wasn’t a big mistake.


	2. Week 1, Day 6

“I can’t.”

As if to emphasize this, Noctis flopped down on the track right where he was.

Prompto laughed and ran back to where his friend lay, crouching down low. “Come on, Noct, it’s barely been two laps,” he said, poking Noctis in the side. “That’s not even a mile!"

“Everything hurts, and I’m dying.”

“You’re fine,” Prompto disagreed. He reached down for Noctis’ arm, pulling him up to a seated position, and then to his feet. “You’re just out of shape!”

Noctis groaned in response. “So out of shape,” he said.

“Come on, bud,” Prompto said encouragingly, taking a few tentative steps away. “You can do it! We did a mile and a half yesterday!”

Noctis huffed out a breath, but followed in Prompto’s footsteps just the same, letting himself be led around the track. They continued that way for another four laps, one foot in front of the other, until Noctis finally stopped completely, limping off the track and collapsing onto one of the nearby benches, breathing heavily.

Prompto wasn't even winded.

He sat down beside his friend, offering him a bottle of water. Noctis took it gratefully, chugging half the contents in one gulp. He seemed to recover a bit after that, his breathing slowing a tad, and he turned to Prompto with a curious look on his face.

“How do you do this every day?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, don’t you ever get bored of it? Tired of running?”

“Nah, not at all,” Prompto replied. “I love running. It’s the best feeling in the world.”

Noctis’ expression said that he clearly didn’t believe Prompto was telling the truth.

“I’m serious!” Prompto chuckled. “When you’re out there during a race, the wind in your face, going as fast as you can towards the finish - it’s the greatest high. I’m telling you, Noct, everything goes away, the pain all fades. It’s like nothing can hurt you, nothing can catch you. You just feel _alive._ ”

“Yeah?”

“You’ll see - once you’ve done a half with me.”

Noctis groaned. “I can’t even do two miles,” he muttered. “How am I going to run thirteen?”

“Point one.”

“What?”

“Technically, it’s thirteen point one miles.”

“Ugh, that’s even worse!”

“Don’t worry,” Prompto said quickly, “you’ll get there. You’re already doing better than I did the first time I ever ran!” He could still remember the day, back in middle school; he’d been overweight and incapable of going fast. Completely out of shape, the pain of that one, slow mile had been excruciating. The next day, he had barely been able to drag himself out of bed, let alone back to the track. But he had persisted. He had persevered.

And now look where he was - winning titles and grabbing cash just for being fast.

Noctis was already doing better than he was, largely because he was in better shape now than Prompto had been then. It had taken him weeks to work up to doing two miles. Noctis would probably be able to do that by the end of the week.

“So,” he said, pushing away the gloom that always accompanied his earlier childhood memories, “do you know what race you want to do yet?”

“Honestly?” Noctis shook his head. “I haven’t even looked.”

“No worries! You got plenty of time! I will tell you this though - the sign-up fee gets more expensive the longer you wait.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to sign up,” Noctis admitted, fiddling with the now empty water bottle. “It’s more that I don’t have a clue what to look for in a race.”

“Well, that’s no problem,” Prompto pointed out. “You got me!” He smiled brightly at his friend, and was rewarded with a soft, slow grin. “Say, why don’t you come over to my place later? We can look up some of the spring races and pick one to do. And afterwards, if you want, we can play some King’s Knight!”

Perhaps that was asking too much - they hadn’t stayed up all night playing video games since college. Neither of them had the time for it now, what with their jobs and responsibilities. Yes, it was far too juvenile a suggestion, Noctis would never go for it -

“So I can stomp your ass? You’re on.”

Prompto’s heart soared.

“Really?!”

“Yeah. I’ll even bring food, my treat. You having a craving for anything?”

Prompto thought about this for a moment. “There is a new sandwich they have at Panera…”

“Panera?” Noctis scrunched his nose up. “All of their stuff has vegetables in it.”

Prompto laughed. “Vegetables are good for you, Noct,” he said. “But if you’d rather go somewhere else…”

“No, no, I’ll get you your sandwich,” Noctis said, ever magnanimous. “I’ll get a cookie or something.”

“Okay! Got a time in mind?”

“How about seven? I have to drop some things off at Dad’s, and then I’ll swing by. Might be later if there’s traffic.”

“Sounds good!”

And with that, they headed off to the showers.

* * * * *

 _"Hot damn it_  
_Your booty like two planets_  
_Go ‘head, and go ham sandwich_  
_Woah, I can't stand it_  
_'Cause you know what to do with that big fat butt_ _  
Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle"_

 _Really now,_ Ignis thought to himself, attempting the ignore the song blaring over the speakers. That was hardly the sort of distraction that he needed while exercising.

It was already hard enough to run on a treadmill while covertly staring at someone across the room.

Ignis stumbled, his foot hitting the front panel of the machine, and after he managed to check himself, he forced himself to look back down at the display. This was getting a little ridiculous. That was the fourth time today that he’d stumbled during his run, quite an unusual event. Normally, he was the very picture of perfect form, having practiced the technique for hours until he had gotten it just right.

Normally, however, Gladiolus Amicitia was not across the room, squatting five hundred pounds as if it were nothing.

In very tight shorts, it might be added.

Ignis tried to tell himself that it wasn’t distracting, that there was no need for him to be staring at the other man in a borderline indecent fashion. He was here to exercise, to take some time out of his very busy schedule and get a nice, calming run in. He was most certainly _not_ here to ogle the staff.

Even if the staff was very, very good looking.

The treadmill beeped at him suddenly, beginning to slow down as he finished his allotted thirty minutes. The tread slowed to a walk, instructing him to walk easily and take the time to properly cool down. Ignis hardly needed the machine to tell him to do so, but he followed the instructions nonetheless, reaching out for his water bottle.

A loud slam indicated that Gladio had thrown his barbell off his shoulders and onto the mats beneath him. He rolled his shoulders a couple times and then turned around, the man he was exercising with giving him a high five. Ignis recognized him as another one of the gym’s trainers, his tank top emblazoned with the gym’s logo.

Ignis took another drink of water, forcing himself to look anywhere else. It wasn’t particularly busy this afternoon; a few men and women were crowded around the free weights at the front of the room, and several more were with Ignis on the cardiovascular equipment. He suspected the lack of customers was why Gladio and the other trainer could get away with exercising while on the clock. There simply wasn’t a demand for their services.

He wondered at that - Prompto had said Gladio was one of the most sought after trainers here. Surely if that were the case, he would have next to no time to himself? But perhaps a client had cancelled today, or maybe he purposefully allowed himself several free slots.

Ignis’ gaze had unintentionally moved back to the personal trainer. He looked to be finished with his weights now, drinking heavily from a water bottle. Just then, he looked up and saw Ignis watching him. A slow, delighted smirk appeared on his face, much to Ignis’ chagrin, and he started to walk towards the treadmills.

Ignis forced himself to remain still, to finish up his cool down with dignity despite the fact that he had just been caught staring. He was calm, he was poised, he was perfectly capable of having this conversation -

“Hey!”

The trainer’s voice was warm and friendly, and his smile was all too knowing. He clambered onto the free treadmill next to Ignis, draping himself over the side in a way that looked like it was distinctly against the rules.

“Ignis, right?” Gladio continued.

Ignis nodded stiffly.

“I noticed you’ve been comin' here every day around this time,” the trainer said, his tone conversational. “Weird lull, yeah? Almost nobody here.” He eyed Ignis. “But then maybe that’s why you chose it.”

“That is part of it, yes,” Ignis replied.

“And the other part?”

“Early afternoon is when I have the most free time.”

“Huh.” Gladio considered this for a moment. “So what, you work in the mornings?”

“I conduct research in the morning, and in the evenings I teach,” Ignis replied.

“Oh, yeah? What kind of stuff d'you teach?”

“Advanced political theory, this semester.”

Gladio chuckled. “Man, I know nothing about politics,” he said. “Sounds like a hard class.”

“It's an upper level course, but the students I teach are generally quite interested in the topic. That helps keep their grades high, relatively speaking.”

“So you’re a professor.” Gladio gave him another once-over, sending a little thrill all the way down Ignis' spine. At least this time, he could blame the heated flush of his cheeks on running. “Yeah, you look the type.”

“Oh?” Ignis arched an eyebrow.

“Yeah - tall, slim, glasses, long nose to look down at people… you’re practically the archetype.”

“Well, much as I hate to destroy your vision, I'm afraid that I'm nothing more than a graduate student at the moment.”

“But you’ll be a professor someday,” Gladio said confidently.

“Not necessarily. I could fail to pass my dissertation defense, or fail to obtain any significant results in my work.”

Gladio snorted. “Nah, I doubt that’ll happen.”

“And how would you know?” Ignis asked, unable to stop himself. “You know nothing about me.”

“Ignis, you’ve been coming in here every day since you joined the gym at the exact same time,” Gladio said flatly. “Then you do the exact same routine - thirty minutes on the treadmill, ten minutes doing core work, ten minutes on stretching. Every other day you add some weight training. Anyone who is _that_ disciplined about exercising is bound to be disciplined in other parts of their life.”

Well, he supposed that was true. It was also remarkably observant of the trainer. “You’ve been watching me?” he asked, surprised. “Why?”

Gladio smirked at that. “Probably the same reason you’ve been watching me,” he replied.

Ignis had no retort to that.

“So,” the trainer continued, “I noticed you haven’t called.”

His voice was carefully neutral, deliberately uninflected. Ignis, who had previously been studiously observing his treadmill’s display panel so as not to get caught staring again, looked over to the other man. Amber eyes were locked on his own, their depths curiously unreadable.

“Waiting by the phone, were you?”

“I kept it at hand.”

He did not owe this man any sort of explanation. If he didn't want to seek out a personal trainer, he was under no obligation to do so. And yet... he found himself compelled to give Gladio an answer, to come up with a reason for why he hadn’t contacted the man after being given his phone number.

“I thought I would give myself time to adjust to the new gym,” he finally said. It sounded rather lame to his ears. He hoped it wouldn’t come across as the trite excuse that it was.

But Gladio seemed to accept this, nodding. “Smart,” he said. Then he flashed Ignis a winning grin. “But I’d love to get my hands on you.”

Ignis made a startled noise, quickly faking a cough to cover it up. “I beg your pardon?”

“I love workin' with runners,” the trainer clarified. But Ignis knew that he’d meant his words to sound exactly as they had - the smirk on his lips was entirely too telling for that double entendre to have been accidental. “They’ve got killer endurance from all the cardio, so when you actually put some pressure on them... they’re great to work with.”

“And you know this from experience, do you?”

“I get a lot of people wantin' to bulk up. Wanting to transition from long distance running to triathlons, Iron Man competitions, that sort of thing.” He stood up straight then, grabbing his water bottle and hopping off the treadmill. “Well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me!”

Ignis had finished his cool down by now, and turned just in time to see Gladio begin to walk away. “Wait!” he called, stumbling off the machine in a sore mockery of the other’s fluid grace.

The trainer raised an eyebrow at him. “Yeah?”

He wasn’t certain what had made him call out to Gladio. It had been an automatic thing on his part, a knee jerk reaction. But now he had to come up with something, or else he risked looking like an even bigger fool than he already felt.

“How much?” he asked; it was the first question that came to his mind. “For the sessions, I mean.”

Gladio chuckled; the sound of it went straight to Ignis’ core, the rich, velvety sound evoking a response that was entirely inappropriate for a gym. “For you? No charge.”

Ignis’ face burned. “I was being serious.”

“I know,” Gladio retorted. “So was I.”

“It wouldn’t be proper for me to not pay you for your services-”

“You said you’re a graduate student, right?” Ignis nodded. “Then you make shit money. I know - my younger sister’s studying literature, and what the university gives her barely covers food and rent. So no charge.”

Ignis paused, sorely tempted by the offer. It was true, what Gladio had said about money - his finances were extremely tight as it was. He hadn’t the money to spend on frivolities, and sadly, personal training sessions fit into that category.

But a stubborn part of him was insisting that it wasn’t appropriate, that this would be impinging upon the rules, and that he mustn’t allow it. Besides, he still hadn’t decided whether or not he even _wanted_ to partake in said sessions. This entire conversation was merely his attempt to cover up his own silly desire to keep talking to this man.

“Surely the gym’s management would frown upon you giving me free sessions.”

“Yeah, probably,” Gladio said. “So don’t tell ‘em.”

“Don’t -”

“I can keep a secret.”

“Gladio, I -”

“All of my clients pay me personally. I give a percentage to the gym. There’s no way they would know, so long as I pay the difference.”

“And you would do that? Pay the difference out of your own pocket?”

Gladio nodded.

Ignis didn’t understand. He didn’t know Gladio very well, nor Gladio him. Why would he go out of his way to help Ignis? He was certainly appreciative of the offer, but it didn’t make sense. Was there some sort of catch?

“Why?” he asked finally, his need to know too strong to ignore. “Why would you do this for me?”

Gladio shrugged. “I dunno,” he replied. “I like you.”

“...it’s as simple as that?”

“I don’t do this for everybody, if that’s what you’re asking,” Gladio said. He took a couple steps closer to Ignis, and Ignis was once again reminded exactly how much taller than him the trainer was. It was a bit intimidating - and also, if he admitted it to himself, a little thrilling. “But, I dunno, there’s something about you, something I like.”

Ignis stared up at him, still uncertain.

Gladio smiled. “Look,” he said, “you don’t have to come to a decision in one day. Think on it, yeah? And when you make up your mind, you know how to get ahold of me.” He took a step backwards, edging towards the locker rooms, and gave Ignis a wink.

“See you later, Ignis.”

* * * * *

“So, the race.”

Prompto looked over at Noctis, but he was far too busy shoving noodles into his mouth to reply. Grinning at his friend’s newfound enthusiasm for carbohydrates - which had incidentally begun the day after he’d started running with Prompto - he swiveled his computer monitor so that Noctis could see the screen too.

“I have a few races lined up, so I figured we would start there.”

“Sou’ goo’,” was the muffled response.

“Dude, you’re spilling noodles all over my couch.”

Noctis swallowed. “Sorry,” he said, getting a napkin and picking up the offending pasta. “I’m just so hungry lately. I don’t know what it is.”

Prompto blinked. “Uh, it’s probably because you’re burning an extra couple hundred calories a day,” he pointed out. “Wait until we start doing distance runs.”

“Don’t say distance like that,” Noctis said, groaning.

“Like what?”

“Like it’s _fun._ ”

Prompto laughed. “But it _is_ fun!” he said.

Noctis ignored him, pointing to the computer screen instead. “So these races you mentioned.”

“Oh, yeah!” Prompto turned back to the screen, where a simple word processing program was open, revealing the list of races he’d made for himself back at the year’s beginning. “Let’s see… gotta find a half in here… ah, got one!” He looked over at the date typed in beside the race’s name and location. “Aw, that one’s only a month and a half away. I don’t think you’ll be ready by then.”

“Definitely not.”

“Let’s try for one in April,” Prompto suggested. “That’s great running weather - not too hot, not cold, sometimes it rains a little, but rain is better than snow!”

“Is it though?”

“Trust me, it’s better.” He continued to scroll through the list, looking for races that fit his chosen parameters. “Mmm, okay, got it!” He turned back to face Noctis. “I’ve got two races - one’s in April, the other’s in early May. One is super flat, a really fast course, and the other is _kinda_ hilly.”

“...how hilly is ‘kinda hilly’?”

“Well, the first few miles aren’t bad, but then you turn onto this one stretch of road that’s literally straight up and down - ”

“Let’s do the other one, then.”

Prompto smiled; he had guessed that that would be the one Noctis would choose. “Okay,” he replied, grabbing a nearby piece of paper and a pen. He quickly scrawled down the name of the race and the website Noct could visit in order to sign up. “I think the entry fee is still about fifty bucks.”

“Wow, really?” Noctis said, surprised. He took the paper from Prompto and shoved it in one of his pockets. “I didn’t know races were that expensive.” He eyed Prompto speculatively. “How many of these things do you do a year?”

“Oh, at least three races a month,” Prompto replied easily. At the shocked look on Noctis’ face, he quickly added, “But most of my races are shorter distances! And shorter races are cheaper, you know.”

“Still… that’s a lot of money.”

Prompto shrugged. “I don’t pay for most of them,” he admitted. “My sponsors cover those fees. And if I win, I get prize money, so it all works out in the end!”

“Do you win often?”

Noctis was interested; he was actually _curious_ about Prompto’s running. He’d never asked any questions about his races before, and Prompto had never really talked about it. He hadn’t thought his friend would care.

But now Prompto found it hard to contain his excitement as he shared his fondest hobby with his best friend.

“Eh, maybe one out of every three races or so,” he said, finally replying to Noct’s question. “The bigger the race, the more competition. And some of these people who come to race are _good._ I’m talking professional, man, they are _fast._ I can’t compete with those guys.”

“Sure you can.” Having finished eating, Noctis leaned back against the couch. He patted the seat next to him, indicating Prompto should join him.

Prompto did so, chuckling as he moved. “I appreciate the faith in me, Noct, but seriously,” he said, “these guys are _amazing._ Like this one man last year, he ran the marathon in two hours and six minutes! I mean, that’s not a world record or anything, but _dude_! Two hours and six minutes! That’s under five minute mile pace for twenty-six miles!”

“You serious?”

“Yeah! It was incredible to watch!”

Noct eyed him curiously. “How fast did you run it in?”

“Oh, I finished in two hours and seventeen minutes. I was going about five-fifteen pace.”

His friend was giving him a funny look.

“You realize that’s still insanely fast, right?” Noct asked.

Prompto smiled at the unabashed praise. “Well, yeah,” he said. “I guess it is kinda fast.”

Noct snorted. “There’s no ‘kinda’ about it, Prom. You’re incredible.”

A bitterness edged into Prompto’s happiness then; this was the type of compliment that he never knew how to interpret. A part of him was certain that Noctis was just being nice, just being friendly; but another part, the part that secretly always hoped for more than friendship, wasn’t so convinced. Surely there was an element to how Noct said “incredible” that made it more than just an ordinary compliment. Surely he had meant it as more than just a passing remark…

Prompto never knew for certain. And so he never acted upon these fleeting thoughts, never dared to hope they were true.

Despite how much he desperately desired to do so.

“Hey.” Noctis nudged him in the shoulder. “You okay?”

“What? Oh, yeah! I’m great!”

“You got awful quiet there.”

“Sorry,” Prompto said automatically. “I was just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Honestly? You.” It wasn’t a lie, after all, even if it wasn’t the whole truth.

This seemed to surprise Noct. “Me?” he repeated.

“Yeah! I’m really happy you decided to run a half with me. I mean…” Prompto shifted on the couch, tucking one long leg underneath him so that he could face his friend. “I get to share this with you. It’s such a big part of my life, and I never wanted to bother you with it before, because I know you don’t really like running, but it’s just... really awesome to get to talk about it.”

“Prom, you can talk to me about anything,” Noct said. “You know that, right?”

Prompto smiled. “Yeah,” he said, ignoring the insidious little voice inside him telling him that he was lying. “'Course I do.”

“Even things you think I don’t like,” Noctis continued. “If it’s something you want to talk about, then we should talk about it.”

“Okay.” It was the answer Noctis seemed to want, so it was the answer Prompto gave.

Having said his bit, Noctis picked up a video game controller off the table, handing it to Prompto. “Now - King’s Knight?”

Pushing aside the gloom, Prompto gave his friend a big smile and took the controller, determined to have a good rest of the night.

“You’re on!”


	3. Week 2, Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your response to the first two chapters! :) I appreciate all of the comments and the kudos.
> 
> This chapter contains some text messages, and I hope it comes across easily who is talking. The name beside the message is who the message is FROM.

Prompto was alone at the gym this time. It was late at night, and no one was there but him and the few people whose sleep schedules forced them to be awake during the night. He didn’t mind; he had the track to himself this way and didn’t have to worry about weaving in and out of the other runners’ paths. He could move a little bit faster, run a little more recklessly.

He could also, he happily thought to himself, listen to whatever workout music he wanted to with no judgment.

Prompto’s taste in music had always been eclectic. He liked songs that were upbeat, fun, catchy. Luckily for him, those were exactly the type of songs that coordinated well with running. They helped him set a pace and stick to it, pushing him to go faster when he was feeling sluggish.

Tonight he decided to start with one of his favorite songs. He flicked through his Spotify library for it, hooking it up to the speakers placed around the track once he’d found it. He set off at a controlled lope as a commercial began playing, waiting eagerly to hear the first notes of the song. His pace was easy, more appropriate for a warm-up than a standard distance run, but he figured that he could always pick it up later.

_“Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,_

_So tell me what you want, what you really really want,_

_I'll tell you what I want, what I really really want,_

_So tell me what you want, what you really really want,_

_I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna zigazig ha.”_

Man, he loved this song. He’d been teased about it before, but nothing would ever convince him that it wasn’t worth listening to. It was just so upbeat, so fun and spunky - perfect for running!

He finished the second lap of his first mile effortlessly, looking down at his watch to check his pace. The backlit screen read five minutes and forty seconds - a nice, leisurely pace if he kept that up.

“ _If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends (gotta get with my friends)_

_Make it last forever friendship never ends,_

_If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give,_

_Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is.”_

The song went back into the chorus as he completed another lap, half-singing along to the words of the song. He couldn’t resist the jaunty little step to his stride as the song transitioned back into the next verse, the little hop as he ran past the starting line. He probably looked ridiculous, but who cared?

He was so into the music that he almost ran straight into Noctis.

“Woah!” he cried, jerking out of his run with a strange twisting movement. He looked back, thinking maybe he had been seeing things, but no, Noctis really was standing on the track, a sheepish look on his face. “Sorry, Noct, didn’t see you there!”

Prompto quickly went and shut off his music before returning to his friend’s side. Upon closer inspection, he noticed the other looked strange, out of it, his eyes curiously blank.

“Sorry,” Noctis replied, running a hand through his untidy black hair. “I shouldn’t have just run out onto the track like that.”

“Were you gonna run?”

He shook his head. “I was looking for you, actually,” he said. “Can we... can we talk?”

“Of course!” Prompto replied, grabbing his gym bag and phone and indicating that they should head off to the side. Noctis took the lead, taking them to a bench situated in a corner beside a trash can. It was as secluded as you could probably get in the gym, Prompto figured. Not that there was anyone else on the second level anyways.

If there had been, he wouldn’t have been blasting the Spice Girls.

“You alright, dude?” Prompto asked as they sat down. He was concerned for his friend. It was late at night, and he was sure that Noctis had to work in the morning. What could he need to talk to Prompto about that was so urgent?

“I don’t know.”

This worried Prompto. Noctis had never been one for sitting down and openly discussing his feelings. It just wasn’t who he was; he was much more apt to bottle everything up inside, keeping his emotions in check. Prompto didn’t think it was healthy; sometimes, you just needed to get things off your chest. But if Noctis ever used anyone as a sounding board for his deepest, darkest emotions, it wasn’t Prompto. So when he heard his friend openly admit that he didn’t know if he was okay or not, it startled him.

“Hey. Talk to me, bud,” he prompted, gently bumping his shoulder against Noct’s. “What’s up?”

It took Noctis a few moments to answer. Several times, he opened his mouth to speak, and several times, he snapped it shut. Finally, he just shoved a piece of paper in Prompto’s hands, motioning for him to read it.

Though he hadn’t seen many of them in his life, Prompto was certain that this was a wedding invitation. The paper was cream-colored, with periwinkle flowers painted onto the front in delicate, painstaking detail. He opened it quietly, and his suspicions were confirmed, a short little paragraph giving the time, date, and location for the wedding of one Lunafreya Nox Fleuret.

“Luna’s getting married.” Noctis’ voice was flat, devoid of any emotion.

“Wow,” Prompto murmured. He looked back down at the invitation, searching for the name of her fiance. “To... Nyx Ulric. Do you know him?”

“Yeah, I’ve met him,” Noctis replied. “He went to the same college as us. Few years older though. He works for my dad now.”

“Is he a good - I mean - how are you - are you… are you okay?”

“I... don’t know how to be feel, to be honest,” Noctis said. He snorted. “But yeah, he's a good guy. He’s nice, smart, good at what he does... He makes Luna happy, from what she’s told me.”

“That’s... that’s good! Right?”

Noctis turned to look at him. “Yeah,” he said, “that’s good.”

“Then why are you…?”

“So weird right now?” Noctis shrugged. “No idea.”

“You don’t... regret it, do you?” Prompto asked slowly. “Breaking up with her, I mean.” Was that what Noctis was feeling? Remorse that someone else was marrying Luna? He hoped that it wasn’t that, and not just for his own selfish reasons.

“No, it isn’t... that’s not it.” Noctis paused for a moment. “I love Luna, but not that way. She’s like a sister to me. Just... took me a while to figure that out.”

“Oh. And you wouldn’t want to marry your sister, would you?” Prompto let out a nervous little laugh, hoping Noctis would take it for the joke it was.

He did, giving Prompto a weak smile. “I wouldn’t,” he agreed.

“Is that why you broke up with her? You figured out you didn’t like her that way?”

Noct nodded. “Yeah, something like that,” he murmured. He was fiddling with the hem of his jacket sleeve, Prompto noticed, the sole indicator - other than his sudden appearance at the gym, of course - that he was uncomfortable. He wished there was something he could say to make his friend feel better. But he’d never been good at giving advice, never been particularly adept at doling out wisdom. What could he say that Noct didn’t already know?

“It bothered me,” Noctis continued, ignoring Prompto’s silence. “Getting the invitation, I mean. I don’t know why it did. Maybe it’s that Luna’s moving on. Right after we broke up, neither of us dated anyone else. And then she started dating Nyx, but it didn’t seem real. Anything could have happened, you know? But now…”

“It’s real,” Prompto guessed.

“Yeah,” Noctis replied.

“You... you can’t be mad at her for getting married, Noct,” Prompto said carefully, not wanting to make his friend mad. But he felt it had to be said; though Noct might not have ever envisioned a day when he or Luna moved on, surely he had to have realized that it would come eventually. It was the natural course of events - life progressed, things changed, nothing stayed in stasis.

“No, I’m not,” Noctis said quickly, shaking his head. “I don’t mean to sound that way.”

“You just feel weird about it.”

“Right.”

“And you needed to tell someone that.”

“Right.” Noctis gave another amused snort. “And now I’ve told you.”

“Feel any better?”

“Actually, yeah. I do.” Noctis looked around the gym, as if just now taking in his surroundings. “Man, no one comes here at night, do they?”

“Just the people who normally work the graveyard shift.”

Noctis eyed him curiously. “So what are you doing here then? You don’t work nights.”

“Oh, you know, just thought I’d get a little run in!”

“I interrupted you.” Noctis scrunched his nose up. “Sorry.”

“Nah, man, you’re good,” Prompto said quickly, waving a hand. “I was only a few laps in!”

“Were you-” Noctis broke off, his eyes narrowing, “-were you listening to the _Spice Girls_?”

“No!” Prompto answered a little too quickly to be very convincing.

“You were.”

“Hey, there is nothing wrong with a guy listening to the Spice Girls while he is running! They are iconic!”

That drew a laugh from Noctis. “I think it’s cute,” he said.

Prompto blushed, unsure of how to take that. He was uncertain of how to respond too, and so he chose to ignore it. Instead he cleared his throat and motioned to the track. “So, hey, Noct… since you’re here and all…"

Noctis groaned. “Aw, man, don’t make me run.”

“You _did_ miss today because of that meeting with your dad.”

He sighed melodramatically, hanging his head in defeat. “I should’ve just texted you,” he muttered.

“Come on!” Prompto got to his feet, pulling Noct up after him. “Just a few miles!”

“I won’t do more than two.”

“Two and a half!”

“Two.”

“Three!”

“You’re going the wrong way!”

“We can listen to the Spice Girls if we do three!”

“...Fine.”

* * * * *

Ignis stared down at his phone.

Or, more precisely, he scowled down at his phone.

Gladio’s phone number was already visible on the screen. All that he had to do was hit the green button to initiate the call. But he hadn't done it. All day, he’d been entering the number into his phone, staring at the screen and then erasing it, talking himself out of calling once again. Now it was almost midnight, and he still found that he was nowhere closer to making a simple phone call.

With a sigh, he erased the number once again and set his phone down on the table beside his bed. There was no reason for him to be this frustrated, he told himself. He did not _have_ to call Gladio if he didn’t want to. There was nothing requiring him to do so.

And yet…

He wanted to.

He would have liked to have been able to say that his interest in the proffered personal training sessions was strictly professional. It was not. Though he would take advantage of the time spent with Gladio, putting the other’s knowledge of fitness to good use, he was admittedly more interested in the other’s company. He clearly felt some sort of physical attraction for the man, something magnetic about the other’s presence. And based upon his own interpretations of past events, the attraction was mutual.

It wouldn’t amount to anything, of course. He was certain that Gladio’s interest in him was limited to rather obvious flirtation - a roguish wink here, a sly once-over there. Surely it wouldn’t amount to anything more serious.

Ignis had never been quite _that_ lucky in his life.

He looked back over at his phone, worrying his lower lip as he contemplated, once again, what to do.

After another moment’s hesitation, he threw caution to the wind and grabbed the device, dialing the number that he now knew by heart and pressing the call button before he could change his mind.

It went straight to voicemail.

Suppressing a sigh of aggravation, Ignis waited for the small beep that informed him he could now leave his message.

“Hello. This is Ignis Scientia - from the gym. I was calling to tell you that I accept. Your offer, that is. I'm assuming that it still stands. I apologize for the lateness of the hour. I was... preoccupied earlier.”

Yes, _preoccupied._ That was one way of putting it, he supposed.

Feeling thoroughly disappointed, Ignis ended the call and returned the phone to his bedside table before pushing himself up off the bed and heading to his bathroom to ready himself for bed. He quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth, and then changed into the pair of pajamas he kept atop the hamper in the corner before returning to the bedroom.

The first thing he noticed was that his phone was lit up with a message.

Ignis sat down rather quickly, picking up the phone to look at it.

It was from Gladio.

**2/5/2017, 11:57 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> Hey, sorry I couldn’t take your call. At a thing right now. Gotta keep my phone on silent.**

So it hadn’t been that Gladio _didn’t_ take his call, it was that he _couldn’t_ take his call. Though the difference was small, this made Ignis feel much better. He wasted no time in typing out a response before crawling into his bed.

**2/5/2017, 11:59 p.m. <Ignis S.> It's quite alright. I shouldn't have called so late to begin with.**

**2/6/2017, 12:00 a.m. <Gladiolus A.> No, I’m glad you did. Need something?**

**2/6/2017, 12:02 a.m. <Ignis S.> I was just accepting your offer for the personal training sessions. I made up my mind. **

**2/6/2017, 12:05 a.m. <Gladiolus A.> Awesome! Looking forward to it!**

Ignis allowed himself a small smile. He set his phone down and removed his glasses, setting them on the bedside table and extinguishing his lamp before he laid down. His phone buzzed again a second later.

**2/6/2017, 12:07 a.m. <Gladiolus A.> What times work for you? **

**2/6/2017, 12:08 a.m. <Ignis S.> Afternoons work the best for me, but my schedule is relatively flexible. **

**2/6/2017, 12:10 a.m. <Gladiolus A.> Nice, that’s when I have the most openings. I’ll check my schedule tomorrow and get back to you. Don’t have it with me now.**

**2/6/2017, 12:11 a.m. <Ignis S.> Where are you?**

A moment after he sent it, Ignis regret it. He cursed himself internally, frantically typing out a second message to apologize for the forwardness of the question. It was none of his business where Gladio was, and he had no reason to ask.

But Gladio replied faster than he could respond.

**2/6/2017, 12:12 a.m. <Gladiolus A.> Bouncing at some fancy party. You wouldn’t believe the shit rich people get up to on the weekends. **

Ignis hesitated, torn between wanting to continue the conversation and thinking he had already asked too much. Gladio certainly didn’t seem reticent to give up this information, though. Perhaps it was permissible to continue talking.

Slowly, he erased the message he he had written and typed out a new one.

**2/6/2017, 12:14 a.m. <Ignis S.> Oh? Do tell.**

**2/6/2017, 12:16 a.m. <Gladiolus A.> I’ve already thrown three people out for getting into fights - old rich guys, mind you, not kids - and 2 minutes ago, I found some lady doing coke in the bathroom. What is this, Pulp Fiction? **

**2/6/2017, 12:18 a.m. <Ignis S.> It sounds like a lively event.**

**2/6/2017, 12:19 a.m. <Gladiolus A.> I’d rather be home. Or at the gym. Or - ah, fuck, someone just jumped in the fountain. Gotta go. **

With a light chuckle at this mental image, Ignis set his phone down and rolled over onto his side, drifting off to sleep. He didn't wake up until much later that morning, his sleep peaceful and dreamless. He picked up his phone to check the time, surprised to see that he had received several more messages throughout the night.

**2/6/2017, 12:46 a.m. <Gladiolus A.> Crisis averted. Guy who fell in was shit drunk, thought he’d seen a quarter at the bottom of the fountain. (He didn’t. I checked.) Called a taxi to get him home and sent him off, and was feeling pretty good about the whole thing, until I found his wife shacking up with the busboy in the kitchen.**

**2/6/2017, 12:47 a.m. <Gladiolus A.> Shit, you’re probably asleep. Sorry. **

**2/6/2017, 12:52 a.m. <Gladiolus A.> I’m really happy you called.**

Ignis smiled.

He had a feeling today was going to be a wonderful day.

* * * * *

“So, how's your marathon training going?” Ignis asked conversationally, checking over Noctis’ statistics as the other dug into a plate of fries.

“Good, I guess,” Noctis replied, shrugging.

“How many miles are you running now?”

“Just two.”

“Hmm. Only eleven more to go.”

Noctis threw a french fry at him.

“That was uncalled for,” Ignis said sternly, wiping the salt from from his shirt.

“And _that_ was rude. I’m working my way up,” Noctis informed him. “Prompto says I’m doing well.”

“Yes, well, Prompto _would_ say that, wouldn’t he?”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t think you should be using both of these variables in your model, Noct,” Ignis said, ignoring the other’s question. “They’re highly collinear. Have you tried using only one and seeing how that affects your R-squared statistic?”

“What?” Noctis leaned forward, looking at the two variables in question. “I... no. I’ll try that.”

“You might also try entering this as a covariate instead.”

“Got it.”

Ignis stared at his young friend for a moment. He seemed distracted, and not just by the french fries. “Is everything alright, Noct? You wouldn’t normally make this many mistakes in a simple multiple regression model.”

“Gee, thanks,” Noctis replied, rolling his eyes.

Ignis eyed him reprovingly. “You know what I meant.”

“It’s nothing.” Ignis could tell that wasn’t true, and so he sat in silence, staring at Noctis and waiting for him to say more. “Luna’s getting married.”

Ah, yes. So that was why Noctis had seemed distracted for the past few days. It was understandable, of course. He and Lunafreya had quite a history. He hadn’t been sure if Noctis would receive an invitation to her wedding, to be honest. Luna would have wanted to invite him, of course, but how would her fiance feel about that? Ignis hadn’t mentioned it to Noctis when he had received his own invitation. He thought it would be more prudent to wait.  

“This fall, isn’t it?” he asked, closing out of the statistical software he had opened on his laptop and then placing the machine back into his computer bag. “Are you going to go?”

“Are you?”

“I suspect I will. Nyx and I were friendly enough.”

“And you and Luna always got on well,” Noctis muttered.

Something in the other’s tone made Ignis frown. He studied his friend for a moment, trying to discern what was wrong. “Are you saying that the two of you no longer get along?” he asked slowly. “I thought you ended things amicably.”

“We did,” Noctis said quickly.

“Then… you _are_ going to go to the wedding?”

“I dunno.” He sighed, pushing away his plate. “I should, right? But I feel weird every time I think about it.”

“How so?”

Noctis shrugged. “It just feels... strange.”

Ignis could sympathize with his friend’s situation, but the truth of it was that he had no idea what it would feel like to receive an invitation to an ex-lover’s wedding. None of his past relationships had ended amicably, and he wasn’t in contact with any of his past flings. He had a tendency to break all ties when a relationship ended. It seemed healthier that way.

Lunafreya and Noctis, on the other hand, had transitioned easily into friendship after ending their romantic relationship. It had been almost _too_ easy, in Ignis’ mind, for them to make the switch. Though he had his suspicions for why that was, he hadn’t said anything. It wasn’t his place to comment on such things.

“Well,” he said finally, “you have several months before you have to decide whether or not you’ll go.”

“Yeah.” Noctis hesitated for a moment, and then looked up at Ignis, a curious look on his face. “Hey, Ignis.”

“Yes?”

“Do you think Prompto would go with me if I asked him to?”

Ignis blinked. “To Lunafreya’s wedding?”

“Yeah.”

Ignis considered this for a moment.

“I suspect that Prompto would do anything you asked of him,” he finally replied.

“You don’t think he would find it... weird? A guy asking another guy to go to a wedding with him?”

Ignis shrugged. “You know him better than I do,” he admitted, “But I think not.”

“He’d probably agree, even if it made him uncomfortable.” Noctis blinked. “I don’t want to make him uncomfortable.”

“Again, you have plenty of time to figure out a way to ask him to accompany you.”

“I guess.” He picked up a french fry, contemplated it for a moment, and then let it fall back down to the plate. “Fries are cold.”

“Is that your way of saying you’re ready to leave?” Ignis asked bemusedly.

“I should. I have to meet Prompto in an hour, and I have to swing by my apartment and get my stuff.”

“Ah, yes. I'll be heading to the gym as well.”

“Yeah?”

“I have a spare couple of hours. I thought I would get a quick run in.”

“And you want to see Gladio.”

“That isn’t-”

“Don’t bother, Specs.”

Ignis raised an eyebrow coolly. “Now who’s being rude?” he murmured.

But Noctis hadn’t noticed. He was too eager to get to the gym, having already thrown down a few bills on the table to cover their meal and headed out the door. Ignis shook his head fondly as he gathered up his things. Who would have ever thought that Noct would be excited to go to an athletic facility? Certainly no one who knew him well. But then again…

Ignis smiled fondly.

He sincerely doubted it was the athletic facility Noctis wanted to see so much as a certain blonde who frequented said facility.

He couldn’t blame Noctis though.

The gym did have quality patrons.


	4. Week 2, Day 6

It was raining.

Ignis hated the rain. It slowed everything down, made everything less optimal - traffic patterns, timetables, his hair. He glared balefully out his car window as the drops spattered onto the glass, wishing that they would go away. But the dark gray clouds overhead held no indication that they were going to let up anytime soon.

He looked down at his watch - twelve fifty-seven. He had three minutes in which to get inside, deposit his belongings in a locker, and then meet with Gladio. It was barely enough time, to be honest, and here he was, squandering more of it hoping that the precipitation would cease.

Steeling himself, he made a run for it.

By the time he made it through the front doors, he was thoroughly soaked. Grimacing at the state of his clothing - not to mention his _hair_ \- he scanned his membership card at the front desk and quickly hurried off to the locker rooms. He was grateful to change into his gym clothing for once, stuffing his wet clothing into the locker with a disdainful sniff. He hoped that they were dry by the time he was finished - he did still have to teach tonight, after all.

With one minute to spare, he made to leave the locker room. On the way out, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His light brown hair, normally held in place by a slightly alarming amount of gel, had fallen forward onto his forehead. He scowled at it, as if it were to blame for its sudden capitulation to gravity.

 _Wonderful,_ he groused. His very first session with Gladio, and he was going to look like a drowned chicken.

There were more people on the gym floor than were usually present at this time of day. Ignis chalked that up to the rain as well as he irritably set off to find the personal trainer. They had decided to meet at the front, by the free weights, but he didn’t see the other man just yet.

Floor-to-ceiling mirrors lined this part of the gym so that people could see their form while they were exercising. Normally, his own reflection didn’t bother him, but today, Ignis found this particularly irksome. He glared at himself, and his fallen hair, while he waited, as if staring at it enough would bring it back to its former glory.

He was so intent upon this that he didn’t see Gladio sidle up to him, staring at his reflection instead of his face. “Hey,” he said in greeting.

Ignis half-jumped in surprise, looking over at the trainer.

Gladio blinked at him, and then his eyes flicked up to Ignis’ hairline. He managed to just barely suppress a laugh. “Uh, what happened to your hair?”

Ignis scowled at him. “The rain happened to it,” he snapped. “I am aware of how ridiculous it looks, thank you very much.” He motioned to the various racks of dumbbells in front of him. “Shall we get started? Or do you want to continue to discuss my appearance?”

“By all means.” Gladio motioned him off to the side, so that they weren’t standing directly in front of the weights. He seemed to sense the gravity of the hair situation, and was eager to move away from it into more neutral territory. “But before we get started... I need to ask you a few questions.”

Ignis raised an eyebrow.

“They’re all related to training,” Gladio continued. “Pretty basic stuff really - what kind of training do you want, do you want me to write you out a meal plan to help you with any nutritional aims, do you have any personal goals you want me to help you achieve…”

Ignis thought about this for a moment, grateful for the distraction from his irritation. “Basic strength training, I suppose. I am perfectly capable of creating my own healthy meals, so I don’t believe I will require any assistance on that front. And as far as goals... I can’t say that I have any at the moment, but if think of one, I shall inform you.”

Gladio nodded. “Easy enough. Let’s get started then.”

At first, everything was relatively simple. He quickly forgot all about his appearance as Gladio had him perform various moves with the free weights in order to gauge his current fitness level. Then he was asked to do a series of basic body-weight exercises in a row, such as push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and squats. All the while, Gladio was making marks in a little notebook he was carrying, writing furiously as Ignis worked.

“What are you writing down?” he asked curiously, after completing a set of thirty push-ups.

“Your stats. Gotta have a baseline.”

Ten more minutes of this, and Gladio flipped shut his notebook and motioned for Ignis to stand up. “Alright,” he said, clapping his hands together. “Now we can get to the fun stuff!”

Ignis quickly discovered that Gladio’s definition of fun did not quite match his own.

The trainer had him do a series of exercises using weighted dumbells, far heavier than the weights he had been using in the beginning. He also had to move slowly through the mechanics of each exercise, or so Gladio said, or he would be relying upon momentum to carry the weight instead of his own strength. His muscles were screaming in protest by the time he was finished with his second set, and he outright balked when Gladio suggested he do a third.

“You can’t be serious,” he said, staring at the man.

Gladio had just crossed his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. “I look like I’m jokin' to you?”

“ _Another_ set?”

“Yep.”

Ignis was beginning to rethink this whole personal training gig. Perhaps he had made a most grievous error in judgment. But there was a challenge in Gladio’s amber eyes, a silent provocation to see whether or not he’d give up. Steeling himself - and resigning himself to the notion that he would scarcely be able to move tomorrow - Ignis grabbed the dumbbells Gladio pointed to and forced his way through the last set of exercises.

He would not admit defeat.

* * * * *

**2/9/17, 7:25 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> How you feeling?**

Ignis glanced down at the text message and scowled.

**2/9/17, 7:27 p.m. <Ignis S.> Rather like I’ve been kicked by a horse. Repeatedly. All over my body.**

**2/9/17, 7:28 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> Kinky.**

**2/9/17, 7:28 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> But you should probably stretch for good measure. It’ll increase the blood flow, lessen the soreness.**

Ignis knew all of this from the basic health class that he’d been required to take during his undergraduate studies. He also recognized that he should take a few anti-inflammatories and consume some kind of workout recovery drink to replenish his electrolytes. He wasn’t an idiot, for goodness’ sake, and he’d been running for the better part of a decade now. He knew how to help his muscles recuperate.

But he needn't send Gladio such petulant responses, even if the other  _was_ the reason for his aching body. He was only trying to help.

**2/9/17, 7:31 p.m. <Ignis S.> I have already done so, thank you.**

**2/9/17, 7:33 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> A massage would also help. **

**2/9/17, 7:34 p.m. <Ignis S.> Unfortunately, a massage requires another person. **

**2/9/17, 7:35 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> I’m another person.**

Ignis stared down at the phone, his irritation fading to surprise, a pleased little frisson of electricity shooting through him as he read the message. How was he to respond? For several minutes, he contemplated the answer to this question. He ultimately decided for sarcasm, in case the other meant nothing by the text.

**2/9/17, 7:37 p.m. <Ignis S.> That you are. **

**2/9/17, 7:38 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> And I’m offering, in case you’re curious. Unless I’d upset your girlfriend or something.**

**2/9/17, 7:40 p.m. <Ignis S.> I don’t have a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend.**

**2/9/17, 7:41 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> No? **

**2/9/17, 7:42 p.m. <Ignis S.> I assure you, there is no one that would be upset at the thought of you giving me a massage.**

**2/9/17, 7:44 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> Huh. Then I guess the offer stands ;)**

Ignis hesitated. To be honest, a massage sounded rather wonderful right about now. He could knead at his legs and arms all day long, but there was just something about another person’s hands… it was an enticing offer, and the fact that it was Gladio made the suggestion even more palatable. But was it appropriate? Probably not, given how long they had known each other. He normally had a policy about not giving out his address until he was serious about someone, certain that he desired a relationship with them.

Was he serious about Gladio?

 _An interesting notion,_ he thought. One that he would have to test before he was willing to come to a conclusion.

**2/9/17, 7:49 p.m. <Ignis S.> Then I accept.**

Pushing aside his incredulity at his own daring, Ignis texted Gladio his address. A moment later, he received an obligatory “be there in a few” response.

His heart was racing, he realized. He stared down at the front of his chest, surprised. When had that happened? But then he noticed that he was still wearing his teaching clothes, and he quickly went to go and change into something more casual.

He had no idea how long it would take Gladio to get to his apartment, and so he started to pull together the ingredients for a quick dish of pasta primavera while he waited. Well, it started out as a vegetable dish. He quickly decided that it needed chicken, and he bent down to retrieve a package out of the freezer. He was in the process of adding it to a pan to cook when he heard a knock at the door.

He rinsed his hands and dried them off on a towel before going to answer it.

Gladio was there, wearing a pair of low-riding black jeans and a tank top that left none of his exemplary musculature to the imagination. A leather jacket was slung loosely over his shoulders, and his hair lung loose around his face. “Hey,” he said, grinning.

_No one has a right to look that attractive in denim._

Ignis found that his throat was very, very dry, and so he simply nodded, letting the other into the apartment.

“Damn, something smells amazing,” Gladio said, breathing in the smell of the cooking pasta that was wafting into the living area from the kitchen. “You cooking?”

“I hadn’t eaten yet,” Ignis admitted, leading the way to the stove. He immediately went to check on the chicken, ensuring that it was cooking evenly and that the sauce wasn’t burning.

He went very still when he realized that Gladio had moved, standing just behind him. “Can I help you?” he asked, tensing at the other man’s proximity. His posture wasn’t threatening, or even the slightest bit intimidating. If anything, it sent a little thrill of arousal through him.

“Man, I didn’t realize when you said you could cook healthy stuff that you meant you could _really_ fuckin' cook,” Gladio said appreciatively.

Ignis raised an eyebrow. “Would you like some?” he asked dryly, putting the finishing touches to the chicken and then removing it from the heat.

This offer seemed to please the trainer. “Yeah?” he said. “I don’t want to eat your dinner though.”

“There's more than enough for two people.” As if to prove this point, Ignis retrieved two plates from a cabinet and filled them with food, handing one to Gladio and then moving towards the small table where he normally ate his meals. It was a bit of a squeeze for the both of them, as it wasn’t really a dining nook but more of an empty space he’d felt that he needed to fill with some article of furniture, but they made it work.

Gladio took one bite and groaned. “ _Damn,_ this is great,” he said. “Is all your food this good?”

“I do enjoy cooking.”

“I think I’m in love.”

Ignis felt that strange, pleased feeling tingle through his stomach again at this, though of course Gladio was only speaking hypothetically. Still, he allowed himself a small smile as he cut up his pasta and brought a bite to his mouth.

“So, nice place you got here,” Gladio remarked. “You don’t live very far from me.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, only took me about fifteen minutes to get here.” He jerked a hand back in a direction Ignis vaguely realized as south. “I’m over by the mall, in that new complex they made last year.”

Ignis knew those apartments. They were fancy, high-end lofts. He very much would have liked to have been able to afford one of them, but his stipend was small. And so he’d stayed where he was - the rent was cheap, and the landlord accommodating. It worked for him, even if only three of the stove’s four burners worked, and the shower alternated between hot and cold water at its own whim.

“Do you like it there?”

Gladio shrugged. “It’s okay,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of people though. And the mall’s always busy, so traffic sucks.”

They kept the talk light as they finished eating, and then Ignis stood to clean up. Gladio offered to put the dishes in the dishwasher, but Ignis politely refused. He never used the machine when he could get away with washing dishes by hand; it was cheaper that way, even if it did dry out the skin of his hands. He would wait until later tonight to do the dishes anyways; Gladio was here now, and he was more than capable of occupying all of Ignis’ attention.

He turned to the trainer, both excited and nervous. Gladio had wandered into his living room, peering around at his things with interest. He looked up as Ignis approached him. “You have a lot of awards.”

“A few,” Ignis allowed. “I'm very serious about my research.”

Gladio let out a light snort. “This is more than a ‘few’, Iggy,” he said. “You must be really good.”

“Iggy?” Ignis repeated.

Gladio blinked. “Huh. Must’ve just slipped out. Sorry.”

“No,” Ignis said slowly, shaking his head. “No, it’s fine.”

Gladio grinned. “Yeah?”

Ignis raised an eyebrow. “I said it was fine, did I not?”

Gladio raised his hands placatingly. “Okay,” he said. “I hear you.” He paused, giving the apartment another once-over. “So. About that massage.”

“Yes?” Ignis asked. “How would you have me?”

Gladio grinned, and Ignis realized how his words had sounded. He felt his cheeks heat in embarrassment. “How about that chair?” the trainer suggested, motioning to the folding chair nestled against Ignis’ work desk. “Sit with your back towards me.”

Ignis did as he was instructed, perching stiffly on the chair. He started when he felt Gladio’s hands come down on his shoulders, working their way into his sore muscles.

“Relax,” the trainer murmured. “I’m not gonna bite you.”

Ignis wouldn’t have minded if he did.

Still, he made a conscious effort to relax. It was easy enough once he put effort into it, he found, Gladio’s strong fingers kneading up and down his spine and across his shoulder blades. The trainer seemed to know exactly what spots were aching, intuitively seeking them out again and again, slowly coaxing the knots out of the muscles. Ignis felt himself melting into the touches, drifting forward into the chair until he was leaning fully against the back.

He let his head fall forward then, forehead resting on one of his arms. Gladio seized the opportunity to work his fingers up the back of Ignis’ neck, right into the base of his hairline, and he couldn’t help the groan that was torn from his mouth.

Gladio chuckled. “Good?”

“Very,” Ignis said weakly. The other’s hand was lingering now, his movements slower and more drawn out than before. He cautiously interpreted that as a good sign, a sign that perhaps Gladio was enjoying this as much as he was. “Do you do this for all of your clients?”

The other leaned down, his mouth at Ignis’ ear, and Ignis froze, breath catching in his throat. “Only the ones with such pretty eyes,” Gladio whispered.

Ignis turned his face ever so slightly, just enough that he could see the other’s face. They were so close, scarcely three inches between them. At this distance, he could see how Gladio's amber eyes were slightly dilated, how the scar at the side of his face cut neatly through the eyebrow. If he so desired, he could simply lean forward and press their lips together. He shuddered slightly at the thought, eyes drawn to the other's full lips, to the way they were just barely parted. Before he could talk himself out of it, Ignis moved, closing the distance between them, when -

For that second time that evening, there was a knock at the door.

Just like that, the spell was broken, and Ignis lurched to his feet, scrambling to answer. A small part of him was grateful for the reprieve, scared that they had been moving too fast. But another, larger part was incensed that someone would dare to interrupt him at _this_ precise moment. He heard Gladio sigh and sink down onto the couch; it would seem that the trainer was also disappointed at this sudden turn of events. 

He opened the door and blinked in surprise when he saw who it was.

“Noctis?”

* * * * *

Prompto _ached._

It wasn’t fatigue from sore muscles, or the sweet, sweet burn that came from finishing up a race as fast as possible. Those would have been tolerable, welcome even, for those were signs that he had challenged his body, forced it to new heights.

This was intolerable. He was cold and shivery, though he was buried beneath god knew how many blankets, and his head felt three sizes too large for his body. Everything hurt, every single part of his body, including several parts that he hadn’t even known _could_ ache. On top of that, his throat was sore and his nose was running, and he felt anemic from skipping several meals.

Much as he hated to admit it, it was safe to assume that he was sick.

His phone rang, surprisingly loud in the silence of his bedroom, and he groaned, peeking his eyes open blearily as he made a grab for the device. He squinted at the screen, trying to the read the caller’s name; it was difficult for his eyes to focus, and he finally just gave up, accepting the call and bringing it to his ear.

“Hello?” he croaked.

“Wow, you sound terrible.”

He knew that voice. Despite how poorly he felt, he perked up a bit. “Noct?”

“Are you sick?”

“I think so.”

“You had me worried for a second there. You weren’t at the gym.”

Oh, _crap._ He was supposed to meet Noct today for a run! They hadn’t met yesterday because he’d had to work a double, and so Noct wouldn’t have known that he’d had to call in.

“I’m sorry,” he said, sniffling. “I should’ve called.”

“No, it’s fine,” Noctis replied. “You shouldn’t be running if you’re sick anyway.” He paused for a moment, and then asked, “Are you okay? You sound _really_ bad.”

Prompto managed a weak chuckle. “I’m okay, Noct. I’ve been sick before.”

“Have you been to the doctor?”

“Hmm? Oh, no.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone. “Have you eaten anything today?”

“I don’t… no.”

“Have you at least had water?”

“The sink is so far away…”

“I’m coming over.”

Prompto blinked. “Over where? Here?” He heard a noise that sounded like a door shutting - was Noct leaving his apartment? “Noct?”

“Do you still keep that spare key under your doormat?”

“Yeah.”

“Then I’ll be there soon as I can. You want anything? Soup? Sprite?”

“You’d cook for me?” Prompto was flattered, but even in his sorry state he wasn’t sure that he wanted to eat anything Noctis had made. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the effort and all… it was just that Noct was a really, _really_ terrible cook.

“I’m not that mean,” Noct said easily. “I’ll get Specs to make something.”

Specs. Ignis. Now Prompto felt guilty. “That’s okay, Noct, really,” he started, trying to talk the other out of it.

“You’re sick, and Ignis makes a mean chicken noodle soup,” Noctis said firmly. His tone of voice brooked no arguments. “I’ll make it up to him somehow.”

“Noct-”

“Don’t. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He hung up without another word.

Prompto sighed, his arm flopping limply to his side. He couldn’t even be bothered to return the phone to his bedside table, and so he kept it in his hands as he curled back into the blankets. _Soup really would be nice,_ he thought to himself. And if Ignis was alright with it… he would have to remember to thank the other man whenever he saw him next.

Some indeterminable amount of time later, he heard his front door opening, accompanied by someone shuffling in through the threshold. He forced his eyes open just in time to see Noctis walking through his bedroom door, arms full. “Hey,” he said, unloading the contents of his arms onto the bedside table.

“Hi,” Prompto replied, attempting a feeble smile.

His friend walked over to him and sat down on the bed, bringing a hand up to feel his forehead. It was cold against Prompto’s heated skin. “Damn, you’re hot,” he murmured.

“Thanks for noticing,” he replied, trying to make a joke.

Noct snorted at that and reached into a pocket, taking out a jar of ibuprofen. “Here,” he said, popping open the cap and letting two pills slide into his hand. “That should help bring down your fever.”

Prompto took the pills and bottle of water Noct handed him. It hurt to swallow, but he forced the medicine down, knowing that it would help. He took a few extra sips too, hoping that would ease the ache in his throat.

“Thanks, man,” he said weakly, laying back down.

“Think you can eat something?”

“I should,” Prompto allowed. He thought about things for a moment. “But I don’t think I can sit up.”

“I can help with that,” Noct replied, reaching out to gently pull Prompto up into a seated position. He even fluffed the pillows so that Prompto could lean back.

As soon as he was comfortable, Noct pushed a bowl of steaming chicken noodle soup and a spoon into his hands. His fingers trembled around the spoon, but he managed, little by little, to get a bit of the broth into stomach. That seemed to invigorate him, and he was able to try for some of the noodles and meat.

All the while, Noctis talked to him. He told him about his day, and the meeting he’d had with his father - how he’d managed to convince Regis that their current model wasn’t accounting for enough variance in the data, and that they needed to widen their parameters a bit when collecting customer information. Most of that went over Prompto’s head; he had never done well in statistics, and he had absolutely no mind for business. But he didn’t mind; listening to Noct talk was comforting, regardless of the subject matter.

“Oh, and get this - when I went to get Specs to make that soup for you, he wasn’t alone.”

“Yeah?” Prompto had finished the soup, and he set the bowl down on the bedside table. He felt a little stronger now, and a little more awake. Still, he nestled back into the comfort of his pillows, not wanting to leave the warmth of the little cocoon he had created.

“Gladio was with him.”

“No way!” Prompto considered this for a moment. “I saw them at the gym the other day, talking. Do you think… do you think they’re dating?”

“Dunno,” Noct said, shrugging.

“I think that’d be nice. Gladio’s a nice guy.”

“I guess. He doesn’t really seem like Specs’ type though.”

To Prompto’s surprise, Noctis popped his shoes off and swung the rest of his body up onto the bed, sprawling out beside him. They were very close now, bodies side by side. But then again, they were separated by at least five blankets, so it wasn’t like they were _really_ touching.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I know most of the people Ignis has dated. We’ve been friends for… forever, I guess. Gladio isn’t like them.”

“... in a good way, or a bad way?”

Noctis thought about this for a moment. “Actually, it might be in a good way.” He laid his head down on his arms, staring up at Prompto with his impossibly blue eyes. “Everyone else he’s dated has been just like him.”

Prompto blinked. “And that’s a bad thing?”

“It’s not... bad, I guess. But it means they were all just as work-obsessed and anal as he is. He’d always get caught up in school or his research, or they would, and then they’d never see each other, and then they'd argue and break up, and he’d never talk about them again.” He paused, frowning. “I don’t think Gladio’s like that.”

“They’d complement each other,” Prompto guessed.

“Yeah, exactly.” Noctis sighed and then flipped onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. “Though I could be wrong. Maybe there’s nothing there.”

The conversation lagged then, and Prompto found himself getting sleepy again. He tried to fight it, blinking rapidly to keep his eyes open, but Noctis wasn’t fooled. He looked up when Prompto started to sag sideways, drawing his eyes away from the show he’d started to watch on Netflix.

“Go ahead and sleep,” he said. “Don’t try to stay awake just because I’m here.”

“‘M not tired,” Prompto murmured, even as he felt himself began to drift off.

Noct snorted. “Sure.”

“You staying?”

His friend’s expression changed then, though Prompto was too tired to make sense of exactly what type of change it was. “Do you want me to stay?” Noct asked. His voice was odd too, though again, Prompto couldn’t name what was strange about it.

“Mmhmm,” he replied, snuggling down into the blankets.

As sleep finally caught up with him, he thought he saw Noct smile.

“Okay. I’ll stay.”


	5. Week 3, Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay in getting this out! I got distracted writing other things, and this kind of fell by the wayside. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it :)

Prompto was feeling anxious.

It had been several days since he had last been able to run, and he was getting antsy to get out onto the track again. There hadn’t really been anything he could have done - if you were sick, you were sick. It was better to listen to your body and take the time off than to push it to the limits. Still, he hated lying in bed all day, doing nothing but sleeping and binge-watching television shows he didn’t much care for in the first place.

Though he hadn’t minded Noct’s company. His friend had stayed the night that first night, only leaving in the morning because he had had to go to work. He’d promised to return though, and sure enough, as soon as his day was over, he had come back with more soup and enough Nyquil to knock a small elephant thoroughly unconscious.

He was touched, truly, that his friend was willing to go to such lengths for him. Not that Prompto wouldn’t have done the same thing for him, because he would have in a heartbeat, but it was still nice to know Noct cared.

“Hey.”

_Speak of the devil._

Prompto looked up from the floor, smiling brightly at Noctis as he dropped down to the mat beside him. “Heya,” he replied.

“You look better.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmm. Loads.”

“I feel better too,” Prompto admitted. He checked his laces, making sure they were pulled tight, and then moved into a position where he could stretch out his hamstrings. Beside him, Noct mimicked his actions.

“Too bad though,” Noct said offhandedly. “Now we can’t finish the last episodes of that anime we were watching.”

“Sure we can!” Prompto replied. “I don’t have to be sick for you to come over, you know.”

His friend rolled his eyes. “I know,” he retorted. “Just don’t want you getting sick of me being around.”

Prompto snorted. “Yeah, like that would happen.” He popped up to his feet, reaching down a hand for Noctis. The other took it, letting himself be pulled up, and he followed Prompto up the stairs to the track. He sighed forlornly when he saw it, a dejected expression on his face.

“How many miles today?” he asked.

“Mmm… three?” Prompto considered this, and then nodded. “Yeah, three.”

Noctis groaned. “Why did I want to do this again?” he muttered.

“Dunno! But you’re here, so you might as well do it. C’mon!” He patted his friend on the back, forcing his hand not to linger, and set off at a slow, easy pace that he knew Noct would be able to keep.

For the first few laps, they ran in relative silence, the only sounds their huffed breaths and the slapping of their sneakers on the rubber surface of the track. Prompto felt giddy - there really was nothing like running. He hated taking more than a couple days off. It made him feel sluggish, and it threw his whole schedule off. He had to fight the urge to go faster, to just take off as fast as he could, but he knew that it was better to take things slow his first day back.

“So, hey,” Noctis huffed, just as they finished their first mile.

“Yeah?”

“Got a question for you.”

“Okay. Shoot!”

“You know Luna’s getting married.”

“Yeah…”

“I know it’s forever away-” Noct paused, taking a couple of quick, shallow breaths, “-but I want you to go with me.”

Prompto nearly tripped over his shoes. “ _Me?”_ he asked incredulously.

“Yeah.”

Was Noctis… blushing? Prompto thought he might be, though it was hard to tell because of the flush already high on his cheeks from the exercise. Still, Prompto had felt his stomach lurch gleefully at the question, pleased beyond measure that Noct wanted _him_ to go with him.

But wait.

Was this… was this like… like a _date_?

That was what they called it, right? A wedding _date_? He thought he’d seen enough cheesy romantic comedies involving weddings to know.

“So I’d be like… your date?” He tried not to sound too hopeful.

“What? No!” Noctis said quickly.

Prompto physically _felt_ his heart sink a little.

“I mean… unless you _want_ it to be,” his friend added a moment later.

Uh, yeah. Prompto very much wanted it to be. He’d dreamed of Noct taking him on a date for years, but he had never once thought the day would actually come. Now…

“Do _you_ want it to be?” he asked, leaving the door open for Noctis to back out.

Noct looked over at him, blue eyes a little guarded. “Maybe?”

He couldn’t believe it. Was this happening? Was this real? Perhaps he should pinch himself, make sure this wasn’t a dream. Covertly, he pinched himself on the wrist, making it look like he was hitting one of the dials on his watch.

Nope. That hurt. It wasn’t a dream.

He looked back over at Noctis, who was staring at his feet as they moved. “Then I guess it’s a date,” he said slowly. Immediately, the other’s head shot up, and he gave Prompto a tentative smile.

“Yeah?”

“I’ll write it down on my calendar!”

Noctis huffed out a laugh. “It’s not until October,” he reminded Prompto. “You’ve got time.”

“Even so, I wanna remember to look my best that day,” Prompto replied, happiness making him speak a little more freely. “Can’t show up to a date looking like crap!”

“Well, you could. It’d probably just not go well.”

“I want this to go well.”

The soft, shy smile Noctis sent his way then made Prompto giddy.

* * * * *

“I asked him out.”

Ignis looked up from his spreadsheet. “Who?”

“Prompto,” Noctis said, frowning at Ignis. “Who else would I be talking about?”

Ignis shrugged. The announcement had caught him off guard, though to be honest, his surprise was just as likely due to how out of it he had felt for the last several days. He could blame it on a certain handsome physical trainer, but if he was being truthful with himself, it was entirely his fault. He had let things progress quite quickly, and then they had been interrupted, and he had startled like a frightened deer. He hadn’t been able to talk to Gladio since then, uncertain of what to say. The other had texted him several times, of course, but he had feigned being busy, apologizing and promising to text back later.

It was maddening, consuming his every spare moment and free thought. Eventually, he would have to do something about that. It wasn't conducive for his attention to be so scattered. For now, though, Noctis was at the forefront of his thoughts, and he pushed his musings of Gladio aside.

“And?”

“And… he said yes,” Noctis admitted.

“That’s - that’s wonderful, Noct, really,” Ignis replied. “When’s the occasion?”

“October.”

“... a little far in advance, don’t you think?”

“Okay, so I didn’t technically ask him out. I asked him to go to Luna’s wedding with me. But we decided it was a date.”

“Hmm.”

Noctis sighed at him. “What?”

“It might be prudent to have a date _before_ Lunafreya’s wedding,” he pointed out, “just to see if the two of you are compatible. Otherwise, it might be a little awkward, and you wouldn’t want to seem ill at ease at a friend’s wedding, would you?”

“She’s my ex-girlfriend, Ignis, I think it’s gonna be a little awkward regardless.”

“You know what I mean, Noctis.”

Another sigh. “Yeah, I guess so.” He paused, staring intently down at the table for a few moments. “He seemed happy when I suggested it was a date. Instead of just... going as friends.”

“Yes? Then he would likely be amenable to the idea of another outing, if you asked.”

“I dunno. I guess? You think he’d say yes?”

“If he agreed to go to Lunafreya’s wedding with you, as your date, then I can’t think of a reason why he wouldn’t also agree to go out to dinner with you.” Noctis still looked uncertain, and Ignis sighed. “You’re second-guessing yourself, Noct. What’s the worst that can happen?”

“... he’ll say no.”

“And would that ruin your friendship?”

“Probably not.”

“Then what have you to lose?”

“Maybe I’m overthinking things.”

“You most certainly are,” Ignis replied, smiling wryly at his friend.

To his surprise, Noct snorted. “You’re one to talk,” he retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. Ignis blinked at him in confusion, and he added, “Talked to Gladio lately?”

Ignis stiffened, eyes flicking down to where his phone lay on the table. The screen was lit up, informing him that he had several new, unread text messages to go through. One of them was likely from the personal trainer, but he refused to let himself look. He even reached out and flipped it over, so that the screen was facing down. “I take your point,” he snapped.

“What was he doing over at your place, anyways? I didn’t know you two were friends.”

“We aren’t. Not really,” Ignis amended. “We’re…” He trailed off, unsure of what to say. What _were_ he and Gladio to another? Businessman and client? Trainer and trainee? Though both were accurate, neither seemed entirely truthful. Acquaintances? That seemed too stilted, too sterile for the relationship they had developed over the past several weeks. He didn’t spend hours texting his work acquaintances; nor, he thought to himself, did he invite them over to his apartment in order to receive a _massage_ after he fed them dinner. 

“You can get back to me on that,” Noctis said, smirking at him.

Ignis scowled. “I hardly think it’s any of your business.”

“Aw, don’t be that way, Specs. I’m just surprised, that’s all. You don’t normally move this quick.”

Noct had him there. He _didn’t_ typically move very quickly when it came to relationships. He liked to know what he was getting himself into before he made a move. Romance was inherently unpredictable, operating outside the bounds of control and order. But assessing the situation before getting involved mitigated the uncertainty to an extent. It allowed him some semblance of mastery over things, and this made him feel much more comfortable.

He couldn’t say why he wasn’t doing with this Gladio. It wasn’t that he felt any more comfortable - in fact, Gladio made him feel decidedly _uncomfortable._ He found it hard to think around the other man, hard to maintain his carefully crafted aloofness. The trainer had a particular talent for getting past his guard, for getting him to open up despite his reserved tendencies.

And if Ignis were quite honest with himself, he liked it.   

“Do you like him?”

Ignis blinked at the question. “I don’t… dislike him,” he replied.

“That’s not a no,” Noctis said, grinning. Ignis scowled at him. “Hey, it’s alright to admit you like him. Gladio’s a good guy; I’ve known him forever. Honestly, I’m a little surprised you two haven’t met before.”

“When would we have met?” Ignis demanded. “Your father hired me to tutor you, not to get to know his security detail.”

“I’m just saying, you must’ve been in the same house together loads of times.”

“Well, our paths never intersected.”

“Until now.”

“... until now.”

Noctis stared at him for a moment, his gaze inscrutable. Ignis didn’t like being the focus of such an intense gaze, so he refused to meet his friend’s eyes, staring at his cup of coffee instead. It had gone cold while he was working, he noticed with a grimace. He would have to get another one.

“For what it’s worth, I think Gladio really likes you.”

Ignis looked up at his friend, surprised. “And you know this how?”

Noctis shrugged. “Just the way he looked at you.”

Ignis felt a little pleased shiver run him at Noct’s words, though he did his best not to show it. Gladio looked at him a certain way? He’d not noticed...

“But hey, listen, I’m gonna go get some work done. I have a project due tomorrow.” Noctis pushed himself away from the table, grabbing his coat off the back of the chair. “Don’t think too hard, Specs. You’ll go gray before you’re thirty.”

“I am _not_ thinking too hard.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.” He reached out and plucked a hair from Ignis’ head.

Ignis yelped indignantly. “What was that for?” he demanded, bringing a hand up to his hair.

Noctis was studying the small strand held between his forefinger and thumb. “Definitely gray,” he deduced.

“It is _not,_ ” Ignis snapped, standing up and grabbing for the hair. To his dismay, however, he saw that Noctis was right - the hair was suspiciously light, even when compared to his relatively light brown locks. He glared at it, as if it were to blame for its suspicious lack of pigment. “It is _not_ gray,” he said stubbornly.

Noctis laughed at him - actually _laughed._

“Sure, Specs. Whatever you say.”

* * * * *

**2/13/17, 5:32 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> Hey. You busy tonight?**

Ignis had been staring at his phone for perhaps twenty minutes, thinking of how to respond to the text message Gladio had sent him when he had been talking with Noctis over an hour ago. To tell the truth, he wasn’t busy at all; in fact, tonight he was suspiciously _not_ busy. He had finished all of his work early that afternoon, and his class had been cancelled due to a bout of illness making its way through the university. He had returned to his apartment early, gone through some light exercises and showered, and then completed all of his usual weekday chores in record time. So no, he was not busy. Not in the slightest.

But if he responded to Gladio’s text message, then that meant that he would have to talk about what had happened the other night. He would be forced to confront the situation. Was he ready for that?

**2/13/17, 6:56 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> You know you have your read receipts on, right? **

Well, damn. He supposed he had to respond now.

**2/13/17, 6:58 p.m. <Ignis S.> My apologies. I was trying to think of a clever response.**

**2/13/17, 6:59 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> Yeah? Come up with anything?**

**2/13/17, 7:01 p.m. <Ignis S.> Obviously not. **

**2/13/17, 7:02 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> Hah. So… what do you say? Busy?**

Ignis steeled himself before replying, finally deciding to just tell the truth and play things by ear. Hopefully, it wouldn't come back to bite him. 

**2/13/17, 7:04 p.m. <Ignis S.> Actually, I’m completely free tonight. Did you have something in mind? **

**2/13/17, 7:05 p.m. <Gladiolus A.> I’ll pick you up in 15 minutes.**

Ignis frowned down at the tiny screen. Fifteen minutes wasn’t a lot of time for him to get ready. And what exactly were they going to be doing? He looked down at himself, studying his clothes. He had changed into a less formal polo, though he’d kept his khakis from earlier. Was this too much, or not enough? Gladio hadn’t given him any details.

He should at least go and check on his hair. His heart was beating a little faster as he pushed himself off the couch and retreated into the bathroom. Flipping on the light, he checked his reflection in the mirror. He supposed he looked permissible; his hair was still reasonably arranged, and he wasn’t looking too tired. Still, he washed his face and brushed his teeth before reapplying the cologne he wore on a daily basis.

There was a knock at the door just as he re-entered his living room. Surprised, he looked down at his watch; sure enough, it had been roughly a quarter of an hour since his last text message from Gladio. He swallowed nervously, and then went to answer the door.

Gladio smiled at him. He was dressed casually, wearing dark sweatpants and a long-sleeved green shirt under his dark leather jacket, and Ignis felt a little overdressed. But the other didn't seem bothered by this in the slightest, openly eyeing Ignis' attire.

“Hey,” he said. "You look nice."

“Thank you,” Ignis replied, an ingrained response more than anything.

“Ready? I’m parked just out front.”

“Just let me grab my jacket.” Ignis turned and reached for his coat, slinging it on as he grabbed his keys and turned off the lights. Gladio waited patiently for him, even bending down to pick his keyring up when he accidentally dropped it in a moment of nervousness, and then ushered him down the stairs to the parking lot, his hand at the small of Ignis’ back. Ignis might have protested this, were he not enjoying the warmth and the other’s closeness.

“That one’s mine,” Gladio said, pointing to a red muscle car at the edge of the lot.

“Very nice,” Ignis replied. This was apparently the right thing to say, for Gladio grinned and quickly launched into an explanation of all of the car’s features. He seemed particularly fond of the size of its engine, though he did mention that the gas mileage was less than optimal.

“It’s worth it, though,” he said in summation. “Sometimes you just wanna drive fast.”

“Indeed.”

It was, as Gladio had said, a short drive between their apartments. Ignis barely had time to apologize for his evasive behavior of the past few days before they were pulling into another parking lot.

“Don’t sweat it,” Gladio said, waving a hand. “I know how life gets.” He grinned at Ignis. “To tell you the truth, I’m happy you were just busy. I thought you might have been avoidin’ me.” He started to walk towards the large apartment building across the way, motioning for Ignis to follow him. “Hoped I didn’t come off too strong.”

“Perhaps a little strong,” Ignis admitted. “But I haven’t exactly been discouraging you.”

“Still, you ever want me to stop, just say the word,” Gladio replied.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

The apartment lobby was very nice, dark wood floors and beige walls decorated with rugs and paintings of abstract design. Potted plants stood in nearly every corner, and there was some sort of lounge off to the side, with a fully stocked bar and widescreen television. It was currently playing a sports game, and several people were watching from the comfort of a sectional leather sofa.

“Very nice,” Ignis observed.

Gladio led them to an elevator and pressed the up button. “Yeah, they’re really tryin’ to attract people to come and live here,” he said. “Owners aren’t makin’ enough of a return on their investment.”

“Hmm.”

“I’m hopin’ the place doesn’t go under,” Gladio said as the stepped inside the elevator. “Then I have to find another apartment. It was hard enough to find this one.” He placed the button with a large number three on it and stepped back to lean against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

“Is it likely that the owners will go bankrupt?” Ignis asked, surprised.

“We’ve had some notices,” Gladio admitted.

“I had no idea.”

“Should you have?”

“Well, these things normally pop up on the news,” Ignis replied. “At the very least, you generally hear rumblings of some sort before things go too far south.”

“I guess.”

The doors dinged and opened, revealing a wide, carpeted hallway decorated in the same style as the lobby. Gladio stepped out, and Ignis followed him down to a door near the end of the hall. “This is me,” he said, grabbing a key out of his pocket. “Now, I’ll apologize straight out - it’s not nearly as neat as your place.”

“That’s quite alright,” Ignis said quickly. He was aware that his habits were on the higher side of the cleanliness spectrum. And while he wished others would maintain a similarly high level of order in their homes, he could hardly expect them to do so. 

“Yeah… we’ll see about that.” Gladio pushed the door open and motioned that Ignis should lead the way into the apartment. Ignis did so, a little hesitant at Gladio’s words. But he needn’t have worried - the living room was spacious, decorated in blues and grays, and though there was a little clutter in the corners, the main area was rather neat. Several small couches surrounded a large television in one corner, and in another, there stood a desk and several bookcases packed to the brim with what looked like worn paperback novels.

Ignis was immediately drawn to the bookcases. “You like to read,” he said.

“No need to sound so surprised,” Gladio replied, chuckling.

“I’m sorry,” Ignis said automatically. “That was rude of me.”

“No, I get it. I don’t exactly look like the readin’ type.”

“It's a pleasant surprise. I like to read as well, when I have the time." His eyes flitted over the various titles. "Mysteries, classics, science-fiction, fantasy… is there any genre you don’t like?”

“Mmm, I’m not a big fan of historical fiction. But honestly! I’ll read just about anything if it’s good.” He removed his jacket and shucked his shoes off at the door. “Man, I’m starving. You want pizza? I’m buying.”

Ignis towards him in surprise. “I… yes, pizza would be nice.”

“Got a preference for toppings?”

“Whatever you’d like is fine.” Ignis stepped away from the bookshelves then, taking the time to look around the rest of the apartment as Gladio took out his phone to order the pizza. Three steps separated the living area from a combination kitchen-dining room with stainless steel appliances and a state-of-the-art range. He couldn’t help inspecting it, jealous of the granite countertops and deep, porcelain sink. What he wouldn’t give to cook in a space like this...

“Pizza should be here in thirty minutes,” Gladio announced, coming over to where Ignis was standing.

Ignis nodded. “Your kitchen is lovely,” he said.

Gladio snorted. “Total waste,” he admitted. “I can’t cook worth a damn.”

“No?”

“Well, I make a mean cup of noodles, if you can count that as cooking.”

“I can’t say I can,” Ignis replied, smirking.

Gladio chuckled. “Guess that’s fair,” he said. He took a seat on one of the couches, nestling back into the thick cushions. Ignis followed him, forcing himself to retreat from the kitchen lest he spend the entire night in there, and Gladio patted the seat beside him. Ignis took it slowly, though he didn't sink quite so far back into the seat, instead perching primly on the edge.  

“I gotta admit something.”

Ignis turned to look at the other, raising an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“I didn’t exactly have a plan when I invited you over,” Gladio replied. “I just wanted to see you.”

Ignis had suspected as much when Gladio had ordered the pizza. “Ah.” He paused for a moment, studying the way the other man was watching him out of the corner of his eyes - not overtly, but looking at him just the same. Perhaps a touch nervously. “The feeling is mutual, I will admit.”

Gladio smiled broadly. “Yeah?” Ignis nodded. “That’s a relief. I thought maybe I’d crossed a line last week. You jumped away pretty fast.”

“Ah - about that.” Ignis took a deep breath. “I was not… opposed to your actions. In fact, I quite enjoyed them. But I was also not expecting to be interrupted. I fear I reacted poorly.”

“Fuckin’ Noct,” Gladio said, shaking his head. “How do you know him, anyways? I nearly shit myself when he was your at door, I won’t lie.”

“I’ve tutored him since we were both in high school,” Ignis replied. “His father wanted him to bring his grades up, and I needed the money.”

“Huh.” Gladio considered this for a moment. “I can’t believe I never saw you. I’m over at his father’s place all the time.”

“Noctis said much the same thing to me earlier today,” Ignis admitted. “But I suppose it’s not that strange that our paths never crossed. I spent most of my time at the Caelum manor in Noct’s room, or in his father’s study.”

“Yeah, never been there. Spent most of my time on the grounds, or in the security room.”

“Have you worked for Regis long?”

“My whole life, practically. My dad’s his business partner, so I kinda grew up there. And then, when I got big, I started doing security detail.”

“I see.”

“It’s funny, yeah? We worked in the same place for years and never saw each other, and then we just happen to meet at a gym?”

“A gym I only joined because my old one closed down.”

Gladio winked at him. “Must be fate tryin’ to push us together.”

Ignis allowed himself a small smile in response. “Perhaps.”

The pizza arrived perhaps ten minutes later, and Gladio produced a couple of beers while Ignis selected a movie for them to watch. Gladio proved to be good company, full of random facts about the actors and plotlines, but keeping quiet when it came to the important parts. Ignis found himself relaxing into the couch, slowly sinking back into the cushions. Gladio moved his arm then, putting it on the back of the sofa so that Ignis could lean against him if he wanted. Ignis hesitated at first, but then, deciding to throw caution to the wind, he settled back against the other man, and he _felt_ the happy rumble of noise Gladio made.

All too soon, the film was over, and Ignis knew that he should return to his own apartment. He didn’t want to leave, quite comfortable tucked under Gladio’s arm, but he had several research participants coming in first thing tomorrow morning. It wouldn’t do to stay out too late.

“Here, I’ll drive you back,” Gladio said.

The drive seemed impossibly short, and all too soon, they were pulling into the parking lot. Gladio turned to Ignis, grinning at him. “Well, I dunno about you, but I had a lotta fun tonight,” he admitted. "Even if it was totally spontaneous."

“I wouldn’t be opposed to a repeat encounter.”

Gladio chuckled. “Guess that’s as close as I’ll get you to outright agreeing with me, huh?”

Ignis made a noncommittal noise. “You never know. I might surprise you one day.”

He was rewarded with a rather brilliant smile, and something in his chest twisted at the sight of it.

“I hope you do.”

* * * * *

Prompto’s phone was ringing.

He covertly looked down at the screen, instantly recognizing the number as Noct’s, and then looked up at the cafe lobby; it was nearly closing time, and there were very few customers left in the building. Surely no one would care if he took the call?

“Answer it,” his boss, Aranea, said. She sounded thoroughly bored, cleaning down the counters as they waited for the last few stragglers to drink their coffee and go home. “I got it out here.”

“Thanks,” he said gratefully, stepping into the back room and holding the phone up to his ear. “Noct?”

“Oh, hey. I… didn’t think you’d answer.”

“You didn’t?” Prompto asked, laughing. “Then why’d you call?”

“Well, I knew you were working, so I thought it’d go to voicemail.”

“Do you… want me to hang up? So you can call me back?”

“Nah.” There was a pause, followed by what sounded like a deep inhale. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“‘Kay.”

“Earlier I asked if you would go to Luna’s wedding with me.”

“Yeah. You did.”

“And… you agreed.”

“Uh-huh.”

“But that’s kind of a long ways away.”

“Just a few months.”

“More like eight. Eight months.”

“Okay, eight.”

“The point is… I don’t want it to be weird.”

Was he rescinding his offer? Did he not want Prompto to be his wedding date anymore? Prompto supposed that he understood, though he couldn’t help feeling a little glum at the news. His euphoria hadn’t even lasted a day. Man, why did these things always seem to happen to him-

“So I think we should go out before that. Like, soon.”

Wait.

Had he heard that right?

“Prom?”

“Y-yeah?”

“You still there?”

“Yeah! I’m here! I, uh, just…” He broke off, laughing nervously. “Are you serious?”

“... do you not want to?”

“No, no, I do!” Prompto said quickly, not wanting to give Noctis the wrong impression. “I really, really do! Of course I do! You just… wow. I mean, I was not expecting that.”

“Just to clarify… I mean this as a date. Like a real date. Not a… friend date.”

“Okay? I mean, I kinda assumed that was what you meant-”

“Good.”

The both of them were silent for a moment, Prompto too stunned to believe his good luck. He couldn’t believe it - this morning, he had woken up sad at the prospect of not getting to see Noct as much anymore now that he wasn’t sick. And now, he had been asked out twice - _twice!_ \- by his friend, on _real_ dates. Was this happening? Was this _really_ happening?

He should probably say something. He didn’t want Noctis to think he wasn’t excited, or worse, too surprised to have refused him.

“So, uh-”

“How about-”

They had began to speak at the same moment. Prompto broke off, laughing, and even Noctis let out a wry chuckle.

“You first.”

“I was gonna suggest maybe dinner?” Noctis said. “Friday?”

That was soon! Prompto hoped he could find something suitable to wear. It had… been a while since he’d been out on a date. A real date. One that he really wanted to go on.

“Yeah, Friday’s good!”

“Okay. I’ll pick you around six?”

“Six is great!”

“‘Kay.” There was another pause, and this time Prompto couldn’t help the smile that crept across his face. “I, uh, guess I should let you get back to work then, huh?”

“Oh, yeah, probably,” Prompto admitted.

“I’ll see you later then.”

“Okay. Oh, but Noct?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m, uh… I’m really happy you asked me out.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

Prompto could hear the smile in his friend’s voice, and he couldn’t help but grin as he hung up his phone and put it back in his pocket. He would’ve stayed there happily all night, running over and over their conversation in his head. But it was almost closing time, and he still had his sidework to do, so he stepped back out into the main room.

Aranea didn’t miss the smile on his face. “Someone’s happy,” she said lightly, throwing him a box of sugar and pointing to the little row of dispensers she’d gathered and arranged on the counter.

He caught the box and stepped forward to refill them. “I’ve got a date this Friday,” he announced happily.

“Oh?” Aranea sounded interested now, sidling up to him. “Spill.”

This might have been strange behavior, for a boss to inquire into her employee’s private affairs. But Aranea Highwind wasn’t a normal boss. For one thing, she was only a few years older than Prompto. For another, she had a distinctly elder sister-like demeanor, and while this extended to all of her employees, she seemed to feel especially protective of Prompto. She claimed it was because he didn’t have any relatives that lived nearby, that she was just looking out for him. Either way, Prompto wasn't going to question it. She cared, and he appreciated it.

“It’s my friend.”

“The one you’ve had a crush on for years now?” she asked.

“Yeah. That’s the one.”

“Nice!” She tapped her hip against his, grinning. “He finally realize how hot you are?”

“I guess!”

“Tell me everything.”

Prompto gave her a quick rundown of events, starting with Noctis asking him to accompany him to Lunafreya’s wedding earlier that day. He wasn’t doing a very good job of refilling the sugar containers, but Aranea didn’t seem to mind. Her attention was focused solely on him, inventory clipboard slack in her hands.

“Adorable. The both of you.”

“I know, right?”

Her smile quickly flattened, her voice going serious. "Make sure you use protection.”

“Wha-? Aranea!”

“Herpes is forever.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be an issue on the first date!”

She shrugged. “It never hurts to be prepared.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll make sure to get some stuff! Just in case!”

“Good boy.” She smiled at him. “Now, refill that sugar.”

“Yes, ma’am!” He turned back to the dispensers, intent on finishing up his closing duties so he could get back to his apartment.

“Prompto?”

He looked back over at his shoulder. “Yeah?”

“I really am happy for you.”

He smiled. “Yeah. Me too.”


	6. Week 3, Day 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that the rating has changed to Explicit :) 
> 
> This chapter focuses more on Gladio and Ignis. But I promise, the next one will be more on Prompto and Noctis. It's getting to the point where it's hard to balance the romances equally, but I'll do my best! There will be at least one scene from each relationship per chapter.
> 
> Thanks again for all your kind words and kudos! I appreciate them all :)

Prompto was nervous.

He was staring at his reflection in the mirror, trying yet again to get his hair to cooperate, but the blond locks were simply not playing nice today. “Come on, hair,” he whined, sticking a hand up and trying to artfully muss the strands into a semblance of style. “Work with me, here!” For a moment, it looked as if it had worked and he let out a little whoop of victory. And then his forelock stubbornly fell forward into his eyes, and he sighed.

Maybe he ought to invest in some hair gel, like Ignis.

“You know, I’m doing this for the both of us,” he said, grabbing the resisting piece of hair and scowling at it. “You look good, _I_ look good!”

It gave no indication that it was listening, springing out of place as soon as it left his hand.

It was just his luck that the one day he couldn’t manage his hair was the one day it actually _mattered_ what he looked like. He wore a cap over his head when he was working, and he scarcely cared how his hair looked when he ran. But tonight? For a date? Yeah, hair style mattered!

At least the rest of him looked pretty decent. He’d decided on a pair of dark skinny pants and a dark grey button down shirt, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. Casual, but nice casual, and he’d sprayed on the cologne Aranea had given him for Christmas last year. Clothing, hair, smell… well getting two out of three right wasn’t bad, yeah?

He looked down when his phone chimed, the short, happy tone announcing that he’d received a text message. It was a welcome distraction from the disaster that was his hair, and he picked it up to read it.

**2/16/17, 5:31 p.m. < Cindy A. > Hey Prompto! Aranea told me bout your date tonight! Good luck!**

Prompto smiled. Cindy was one of his coworkers, and probably his best friend beside Noctis. She was sweet, if a little blunt sometimes, and it was touching to know she’d thought to wish him good luck before his big date.

**2/16/16, 5:32 p.m. < Prompto A. > Thanks! ^-^ I just hope I’m not too nervous!**

**2/16/17, 5:34 p.m. < Cindy A. > Aw, you’ll be great! What’re you wearing?**

****Prompto quickly walked into his bedroom and took a picture of himself in the full-length mirror that stood in the corner, sending the photo to Cindy for approval.

**2/16/17, 5:37 p.m. < Cindy A. > Looking good, handsome! **

**2/16/17, 5:38 p.m. < Prompto A. > Thanks! :D**

**2/16/17, 5:39 p.m. < Cindy A. > I expect to hear all about it at work come Sunday, you hear?**

**2/16/17, 5:40 p.m. < Prompto A. > Alright!**

Prompto set his phone down, still smiling at Cindy’s enthusiasm, and sat down so that he could pull on his shoes. The black leather felt strange on his feet - normally, all that he wore were running shoes. To the gym, to the grocery store, while he was working… once he had them on, it was weird to take them off. They had molded perfectly to the shape of his feet, to the point that it almost felt like he wasn’t even wearing shoes anymore. In contrast, the hard leather of the dress shoes was hard and unyielding, almost painful.

He sighed. The things he did for fashion.

His phone chimed again, and he picked it up, thinking it might be Cindy. To his surprise, it was someone else entirely.

**2/16/17, 5:43 p.m. < Noct > So… don’t feel rushed. But I’m here. Early. **

**2/16/17, 5:44 p.m. < Prompto A. > Kay! :) I’ll be down in a sec! **

**2/16/17, 5:45 p.m. < Noct > Ah. Yeah. Bout that. I’m right outside your door.**

**2/16/17, 5:46 p.m. < Prompto A. > Whaaaaaaat? Why didn’t you knock?!**

Prompto made for the door, throwing it open to reveal his friend. He looked cold, his cheeks a little flushed and his hair a little windswept, but honestly? It was working for him, and Prompto couldn’t help but feel a little warm inside at the sight.

“Heya!” he said, opening the door wider to let the other in. He gave Noctis his best smile, trying not to look as nervous as he felt.

“Hey,” Noct replied, returning the smile. He stepped inside and paused, giving Prompto a once-over that made the latter flush. “You look nice.”

“Yeah? Thanks!” Prompto eyed what his friend was wearing then - a navy shirt underneath a lighter gray suit jacket and pants - and added, “You clean up nice yourself!”

The compliment made Noctis bashful, and he muttered something incoherent as he leaned back against the wall.

“What was that?” Prompto asked.

“Nothing.” Noctis cleared his throat then. “So, I’m sorry I’m early. I was trying _really_ hard not to be late, and I guess I overshot things. By a lot.” He scrunched his nose up, looking a trifle embarrassed. “I wouldn’t have said anything, but… I was wasting a lot of gas idling in the parking lot.”

Prompto was touched. Noctis was normally late to everything; sometimes it wasn’t his fault, but mostly it was. He could just never be bothered to show up to things on time. It had gotten him in trouble a lot, Prompto knew, but his friend had always made up for it by being very competent at what he did.

“How long have you been here?”

Noctis shrugged. “Half an hour maybe?”

“Aw, Noct!” Prompto had to laugh a bit, grabbing his jacket and slinging it on before reaching for his wallet, phone, and keys. “Dude, you could’ve said something! I’d have let you inside!”

“I don’t think I’m supposed to come in your apartment until _after_ the date,” Noct replied, managing to throw Prompto a smirk. “Not before.”

“Think you’ll get that lucky?” Prompto teased, his words much more confident than he actually felt.

“You agreed to go on a date with me,” Noctis said. “I’m already lucky.”

Prompto had no response to that, save the red hot flush of delight that flooded his cheeks. It scared him a little, how pleased the simple admission of facts could make him, and he hoped that it wasn’t off-putting to his friend. He didn’t want to come across as too eager - even if he _had_ been desperately waiting for this moment for years.

“So, you ready?” Noct asked, saving him from making a reply.

Prompto leaped at the opportunity to change the subject, to wade back into more familiar territory. “Yeah! Lemme just lock up.”

Noctis led the way downstairs, making small talk as they got into the car and headed towards the restaurant. It was a comfortable conversation, nothing too intimate or personal coming up as a topic. In a way, it wasn’t any different than any other conversation they might have - if you could overlook the fact that they were wearing dress clothes and smelled nice and were on their way to a _date._

They hit some traffic on the interstate. Noctis sighed; he had always hated being pinned in by other cars. He liked to drive fast, Prompto knew, perhaps a little _too_ fast. But secretly, he was happy for the delay, because it gave him more time to talk. There was a question on his mind, one he had wanted to ask for several days now. Stuck in traffic as they were, it seemed the perfect opportunity to ask.

“Can I ask you something?”

Noctis looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Course,” he said.

“I’m really happy you asked me out on a date,” Prompto said, choosing his words carefully. “But, uh… can I ask why?”

“Oh.”

Noctis was silent for a long while, and Prompto almost thought he wasn’t going to reply. But then he did, and Prompto thought he might die, then and there, from sheer joy.

“Because I like you, Prompt. I _really_ like you.”

“Since when?”

Noctis looked like he didn't want to answer, blue eyes evasive. “Honestly? It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Tell me.”

“Since… since Luna.”

Oh.

_Oh._

Prompto’s eyes widened. Was it him? Was he the reason that his friends had broken up? Immediately, he tried to think back to his senior year in college, trying to think if there had been any indication that Noctis had been developing feelings for him. But he couldn’t come up with anything. Noctis was very good at clamping down on his emotions when he wanted to, at avoiding painful subjects. He’d never said anything to Prompto, done nothing to indicate that he wanted to pursue a romantic relationship.

But then again…

Neither had Prompto.

He let out a low, shaky breath. “Wow,” he said. “I mean…”

“Yeah.” Noctis smiled at them then, hesitant and a bit unsure.

“You never said anything. I mean, dude… I didn’t even know you were into _guys,_ let alone me.”

“I didn’t want to mess things up,” Noctis admitted. “I didn’t know if you liked me that way, and it was so soon after Luna and I broke up. I mean… I kinda thought you liked me that way, but I didn’t want to say anything, just in case.” He looked over at Prompto then, curious. “You do, don’t you?”

“Uh, yeah!” Prompto snorted. “I mean, isn’t it super freaking obvious?”

“... maybe a little.”

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Both of them had silly, nervous smiles on their faces, and Prompto felt like his heart was about to burst out of his chest. It seemed too good to be true, still; how he gotten this lucky? It shouldn’t be him, here in the car with Noctis, it shouldn’t have been him going on this date with the absolutely breathtaking man seated next to him. That place should’ve been reserved for someone fancier, someone smarter, someone _better._

But here he was.

And there was Noctis.

They had reached their exit, and Noctis turned off the interstate. Prompto vaguely recognized the intersection they came to next as one that led to the fancier part of town, and a touch of his earlier nerves returned. Was he wearing the right clothes? Would he fit in a nice restaurant? He had to admit, he hadn’t been to a five-star restaurant in, well, ever.

Applebee’s was more his price range.

Noctis must have noticed his fidgeting, for he reached out and put a hand on Prompto’s arm. “Nervous?”

“A little,” Prompto admitted.

“Me too.”

“Yeah?”

“Definitely. But in a good way, right?”

Prompto grinned at him. "Right."

Noctis pulled onto a side road then, heading for a large building on the right. It was beautiful, Prompto noted, with fountains and delicately carved sculptures decorating the outdoor patio, currently closed for the winter but beautiful nonetheless. The windows were tastefully dark, revealing very little of the diners within, and the warm, hazy lighting gave the entire building a romantic, old world vibe.

“Is that where we’re eating?” Prompto asked, swallowing nervously.

“Too much?”

“It looks amazing.”

“I tried to pick a place you’d like, but also somewhere you’d never been before,” Noctis admitted. He pulled into a parking spot and turned the car off, turning toward Prompto. “They have Italian food. That’s… okay, right?”

“Are you kidding? Pasta? Bread? Italian food is a runner’s dream, dude.”

It was also undoubtedly the most romantic cuisine to eat on a date, but Prompto didn’t mention that.

Noctis breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled at him. “Good.” He looked down at his watch. “Uh, our reservation isn’t for another twenty minutes… do you wanna go on inside, or stay here, or…?”

“Let’s go in,” Prompto said, excited. “I bet it looks even better on the inside!”

His friend smiled at him, and held out a hand. “Okay. Let’s go.”

* * * * *

Ignis couldn’t quite believe his bad luck.

Or rather, he could, and was just unreasonably angry about it.

With a huff of annoyance, he placed the ruins of his glasses back into their case, and set them inside his gym bag alongside his water bottle and workout clothing.

It hadn’t been his fault - not really. The gym had been particularly hot today, and he had not relished the thought of constantly pushing them up the bridge of his nose. So he had taken his glasses off before he’d started running, placing them neatly in the cupholder on the side of the treadmill. Being nearsighted, it wasn’t as if he needed them in order to see the display. He’d set them aside and thought to pick them up after he was finished.

Of course, he hadn’t counted on someone bumping into him the second he stepped off the treadmill, just as he couldn’t have foreseen his glasses slipping out of his sweaty hands and falling to the floor, where they had promptly fractured into a thousand tiny pieces.

And so here he was, needing to return to his apartment and grade several classes’ worth of exams, but unable to do so because he could no longer drive himself home.

Sighing, he grabbed his gym bag and headed for the door to the locker room. What was he going to do? He supposed that he could call someone and ask them to come and pick him up. He had several spare pairs of glasses at his apartment, and once he was able to obtain them, he could return to the gym and pick up his car. Who, then, should he call?

His first thought was Noctis, but he quickly pushed that to the side. Noctis was on a date tonight, he remembered, having taken Ignis’ advice and asked Prompto out to dinner. He’d told Ignis of the news just the day before, his voice breathless and happy as he’d explained that Prompto had agreed to another date. Ignis had been happy for his friend; it had been a long time since he’d seen Noctis so unabashedly happy. It had also confirmed his suspicions that Noctis had been harboring feelings for the blonde for quite some time.

But now wasn’t the time to be priding himself on that fact.

He sat down on one of the benches in the gym lobby, pulling out his phone and scrolling through his contacts. He felt ridiculous, holding the phone so close to his face as he flipped through his address book; he hoped that he wasn’t drawing unwanted attention to himself.

Much to his irritation, he wasn’t finding anyone who could help him either. He had never had very many friends; instead, he had acquaintances, colleagues, people that he talked to in the hallways of the university and about whose lives he knew only trivial details. The list of people he could actually count on to help him in a predicament was thus dreadfully thin.

“Iggy?”

Ignis looked up. Though he couldn’t make out the details of the other’s face at this distance, he would recognize that warm, deep voice anywhere. Gladio walked across the room and sat down beside him, his features slowly coming into view as he approached. He wore a surprised expression, and there was something glinting in his eyes that Ignis couldn’t quite name.

“Gladio,” he breathed.

Of course - why hadn’t he thought of the trainer before? They weren’t exactly friends, but he thought that if he were to come to Gladio with a problem, the other would be more than willing to help. He seemed like that type of person. And, if Ignis were honest with himself, he thought that there might be other reasons Gladio would be willing to help him, those reasons including things such as physical attraction, chemistry, and a rather intense connection.

“I could use your assistance.”

“Yeah?” Gladio studied him for a minute, staring. “You look… different.”

“Yes,” Ignis replied, sighing, “and that’s the problem. I broke my glasses.”

“Can you see without them?”

“I can see you well enough, but everything beyond about three feet is hazy.”

“Do you have a spare pair? Contacts?”

“I never much cared for contact lenses. And I do have a spare - but they’re at my apartment.” Ignis sighed.

“So, what, you need me to drive you home or something?”

“Would it be too much trouble to ask?”

Gladio considered this for a moment, brows drawn down in contemplation. Then he nodded and stood. “Hang out here for a sec,” he muttered, walking off in the direction of the front desk. Ignis heard him speaking to the receptionist, though he couldn’t quite make out the words over the music blaring from the gym’s speakers.

A moment later, Gladio returned, offering Ignis a hand up. “Okay, let’s go,” he said.

“I hope I’m not inconveniencing you.”

“Nah,” Gladio said, waving a hand as he led them out to the parking lot. “Had to cancel a couple of appointments, but it’ll be okay.”

Guilt wracked Ignis then, and he stopped, making to go back into the gym. “Gladio, I can’t let you miss your sessions,” he said.

“Sure you can.”

“But this is how you make your living -”

“Yeah, and things happen.” Gladio reached out and grabbed Ignis, pulling him a little closer. “People miss their sessions all the time, Iggy - they get sick, a meeting pops up, traffic, their dog eats a sock… it’s natural that sometimes I have to cancel too.”

Ignis still hesitated.

Gladio raised an eyebrow at him. “What, you think this is the first time I’ve had to bail?” he asked.

“Probably not,” Ignis admitted.

“Then, c’mon,” the other replied, dragging him towards his car. “Let’s get you home so you can see shit again.”

This time, Ignis let himself be pulled away. He didn’t hesitate when Gladio opened the door for him, ushering him into the passenger seat before heading round to the other side, nor did he voice any more of his concerns when Gladio sped out of the parking lot, heading off in the direction of Ignis’ apartment.

It was difficult for him to tell what route Gladio was taking to get him to his place. The world rushed past in a blur, lights and signs all fading together into giant swatches of color. Eventually, he looked away, allowing his eyes to drift over the interior of Gladio's car - the stereo, the steering wheel, the console... the driver. Gladio seemed to notice his attention, giving him pointed little looks every now and then, his eyes still glimmering with that unknown quality from earlier. Ignis couldn't decipher it, but it made him feel... certain things that weren't appropriate for a car ride. Luckily, it wasn’t a long drive, and they were soon pulling into his apartment complex’s parking lot, finding an empty spot right by his building.

Gladio followed him upstairs and into his apartment. Ignis found this curious, but he made no move to protest. The other was doing him a favor, after all - maybe he even thought that he would be helping Ignis look for his spare pair of glasses. He needn’t have worried; Ignis knew precisely where they were stored - in the top drawer of his bedside table, next to the box of condoms he, admittedly, hadn’t had much of a use for this past year. He made a mental note to throw them out and replace them with a new box.

“Hey.”

Ignis turned, just as he was about to retreat into his bedroom and grab the glasses. Gladio, a few feet behind him, was staring at him intently, biting his lower lip in a way that sent heat straight to Ignis’ groin. “What is it?” he asked, voice a touch higher than usual.

“Hang on a sec.” Gladio stepped closer. His eyes were roving across Ignis’ face - from his eyes, to his nose, down to his mouth, across his jaw. They lingered upon his lips a little longer than was strictly necessary, and Ignis cleared his throat.

“Do I have something on my face?”

“What?” Gladio blinked, and then shook his head, as if coming out of a daze. “No. You’re good.”

“Then why are you looking at me like that?”

“I’ve never seen you without your glasses before. It’s…”

“Yes?”

Gladio chuckled then, ducking his head a bit, running a hand through his hair. “It’s a good luck,” he finally replied. “Trust me.”

More heat. Increased heart rate. Gladio stepped even closer to him, only inches separating them now.

“That isn’t to say you don’t look good _with_ your glasses,” he added.

“Oh?”

“Mmm.” Another step closer, and Ignis had to crane his neck up if he wanted to continue to look the other in the eye. “Honestly, you always look good. You’re just too damn attractive.”

“Is that so?” Ignis raised an eyebrow.

“Sometimes, it’s hard for me to focus on my clients, knowin’ you’re right there, across the gym,” Gladio admitted. “When you get all hot and sweaty, cheeks flushed, t-shirt sticking to your skin… shit, Iggy. You have any idea how fuckin’ sexy you are?” His voice had shifted, roughened, taken on a sort of husky quality Ignis had never heard before.

The sound of it made his cock twitch in his pants.

He stepped back, awareness of himself crashing down around him. Gladio was watching him, eyeing his every move, but he didn’t back away, didn’t back down. His words from a few days ago came back to Ignis then, about telling him to stop if he came on too strong. But Ignis didn’t want him to stop, didn’t want him to back off. If anything, he wanted Gladio to push closer, to cross the distance between them, throw caution to the wind and just -

“Oh, hell,” he snapped.

Ignis surged forward, pressing his lips to Gladio’s before he could think better of it. Gladio growled - actually physically _growled_ \- in response, grabbing him hard and fast, his lips enthusiastic and warm and perfect as they slid against Ignis’.

It was heated, as far as first kisses went, with none of the usual hesitance and reservation. But that was only to be expected, really - they had been dancing around each other for the past few weeks now, the intense sexual attraction between them like a rubber band pulled too tight. Eventually, it had been going to snap.

And snap it did.

Gladio shoved Ignis up against the door frame, hands grasping at his waist, pushing aside the fabric of his shirt to touch bare skin. Ignis, not wishing to be outdone, pressed upward, biting at Gladio’s lips until they parted for him. He grasped the other’s dark hair, pulling it tight in his fist, forcing the other to follow his lead in the kiss, absolutely _loving_ the deep, rich groan it elicited.

The other shifted then, pressing a thigh tight against Ignis’ groin, and he moaned at the pressure, so intense, so delicious against his half-hard cock. He let go of the dark tresses in his hand, trailing it down between them so that he could lock Gladio’s thigh into place, keep it steady as he pushed his hips forward again, and again, and again.

“Fuck,” Gladio muttered, pulling back just a moment so that he could watch Ignis rut against him. Then he was back, licking at Ignis’ lips, swiping his tongue into his mouth and swallowing up each heady little gasp Ignis made.

Ignis was aching in his trousers now, and though he wanted nothing more than to shuck them off and let Gladio touch him, he was far too pent up for that. Instead, he settled for grabbing the other’s hips and shifting them ever so slightly to the side so he could feel the other’s hardness against his own. He groaned as he felt the size of it pressing into him, wanting it, needing it, and then Gladio arched forward, and his mind went blank with pleasure.

Gladio had long since broken the kiss, his head having fallen down onto Ignis’ shoulder, and he pressed his face into the side of Ignis’ neck, mouthing kisses against the skin there. “Dunno ‘bout you,” he panted, “but this is really fuckin’ working for me.”

He snapped his hips forward particularly hard then, and Ignis keened, his fingers digging deep marks into the other’s back as he tried to keep him close. Gladio seemed to sense what he wanted, and shifted, pressing forward in one long, slow movement that had Ignis seeing stars.

“Good?”

“God, yes,” Ignis breathed. He was close now, and had he been in a different state of mind, he might have been embarrassed at how quickly he had come undone. But then Gladio was sucking on his collarbone, and he shoved the chagrin away for another day in favor of rubbing himself more firmly against the other’s thigh.

His hips had gone erratic now, his carefully maintained control ebbing away. Again, Gladio read him well, snaking a hand down between them so that he could palm Ignis through his pants. Ignis cried out when Gladio squeezed him, head falling back against the door frame, and a second later, he was lost, coming hard in his pants. Gladio tensed against him, letting out a long, low string of curses, thrusting his hips forward several more times, and then he too sagged, falling against Ignis and the door frame with a dull thud.

Ignis had precisely five seconds before he began to panic.

He flushed, intensely aware of what had just occurred. He felt damp and sticky, sorely in need of another shower, his hair falling down from its immaculate spikes to lie limp on his forehead. His body was hot, flushed, acutely aware of all of the places Gladio had touched - his neck, his face, his hands, his… his cock.

He groaned, screwing his eyes shut.

What _had_ he done?

This was entirely unlike him. He never jumped into bed with people, and he _certainly_ never moved straight from kissing to being pressed up against a wall and jerked off in one night. What was wrong with him?

Nothing, his mind dutifully supplied, there was nothing wrong with him. Gladio was just stupidly attractive, warm and inviting and effortlessly sexy, and Ignis hadn’t been able to help himself. They’d been due for something like this to happen, he reasoned, overdue, in fact. The tension between them had been so thick, present and heavy in their every interaction. Honestly, it was a wonder neither of them had snapped earlier.

He opened his eyes to find Gladio staring down at him, grinning.

“Y’know,” he started, thumbing Ignis’ lower lip, “you coulda just said you wanted to shag me. You didn’t have to make something up about your glasses.”

“You think I-” Ignis glared at him, insulted at the insinuation, pushing him away. Or at least, he attempted to - Gladio was barely moved by his weak post-orgasm efforts. “I assure you, this was _not_ my intention when I asked for your assistance.”

“No?”

“Do you want to see the broken frames?” Ignis snapped. “I think I saved the glass. Will a hundred shards be enough to satisfy you, or shall I make more?”

“Okay, okay, sorry. I was just teasin’ you anyways.”

“Well, please don't.”

Gladio looked at him oddly for a minute, and then stepped backwards, letting him stand on his own two feet. Ignis’ eyes were immediately drawn to the dark wet spot on the front of his sweatpants, and he was reminded anew of what they had just done, heat flooding his cheeks.

“You regret it.”

Ignis blinked at the accusation, at the spike of sadness in the other's voice, and quickly shook his head. He didn't want Gladio to get the wrong impression - though he was embarrassed at having acted so wantonly in front of someone he barely knew, he didn't _regret_ it. It wasn't remorse he was feeling. “No,” he said firmly. “I don’t. I-” He broke off, uncertain of what to say. Gladio, thankfully, waited for him to find the words. “This isn’t something I normally do. I... I didn't want to things to happen _this_ way, I suppose.” He looked up at the other hopefully. "Does that make any sense at all?"

"Yeah, it does. And, just for the record, this isn't something I normally do either,” Gladio admitted. Ignis shot him a surprised look, and he smirked. “What, you think I fall into bed with all my clients?”

“Of course not. But you have to admit that you're a bit of a flirt, Gladio."

Gladio didn’t seem fazed by his testiness. "A bit," he admitted. "But I'm not interested in most of the people I flirt with. Honestly?" He stepped a little closer again, cautiously, as if he didn't want to alarm Ignis. "You're the only one I'm interested in right now."

Ignis' lips were a thin line, pressed so tightly together it almost hurt, both dreading and expecting some sort of negative reply. He daren't hope that Gladio was telling the truth. "Yes?"

Gladio smoothed a hand over Ignis' face, pushing back his sweat-damp hair. "Yeah," he said, smiling. Ignis pushed out a low, shaky breath, pleased despite his caution. Gladio shifted then, changing topics. “So then, what _do_ you usually do?” 

“Hmm?” 

“When you’re interested in someone,” Gladio clarified. “What do you normally do?”

“Well, the general protocol is to ask them on a date, isn’t it? And if that goes well, then you progress to… other things.”

Gladio snorted. “Guess we got that backwards.”

Ignis flushed. “Indeed.”

“We can fix it though.”

“What do you suggest?” Ignis asked.

“It’s simple, isn’t it? Go on a date with me.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard.”

“I…” Ignis swallowed, wetting his suddenly dry throat.

“You don’t want to?”

“No, I - I accept.”

“Good.” Gladio grinned at him, swooping in for a kiss, decidedly short and, if Ignis were truthful, sweet. Gentle. Things Gladio didn’t appear to be; things Ignis was quickly discovering Gladio was.

Ignis found himself responding to the kiss, leaning up into the touch automatically, and falling forward a little when Gladio unexpectedly pulled away. He caught himself at the last possible moment, and Gladio reached out a hand to steady him.

“So…”

Ignis looked up, arching an eyebrow.

“What now?”

What now, indeed?

“I mean, do you want me to stay, or should I go, or…” Gladio trailed off, giving him the option of deciding what happened next. It was respectful, Ignis thought, mindful of any lingering prickliness Ignis might have had towards the situation. He greatly appreciated that, and it did a great deal to assuage the lingering apprehension in his midsection. It gave him the opportunity to think about what he wanted to do next.

All signs pointed to spending more time in Gladio’s company.

“Well, seeing as how you cancelled several of your appointments for the evening, you’re welcome to stay,” he offered slowly. “Though I have exams to grade. And first, I believe that I need a shower.” He grimaced and motioned to his soiled pants.

“Yeah? Want company?” Gladio leered.

“No,” Ignis said sharply.

Gladio laughed. “Okay, got it. Food then? I can do that, can’t I?”

“You told me that you couldn’t cook.”

“I can’t. But I’m a master at ordering takeout.”

Ignis considered this, and then nodded. “Alright.”  He turned, meaning to head towards his bathroom, but Gladio caught him quick, yanking him back around. “What-” His question died on his lips as Gladio pulled him into another searing kiss.

When the other finally pulled back, he was breathing a little heavier, and his pants were a little tighter.

Again.

“You’re amazing, Iggy,” Gladio breathed.

Ignis had no response, and so Gladio playfully pushed him towards the bathroom.

“Now, go, shower. I got this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feedback is much loved and always appreciated :)


	7. Week 4, Day 2

_“So? How was your date?”_

Noctis shifted his phone from one ear to the other, twirling around in his desk chair so that his back was to the open door. “It was… good,” he said.

And that was perhaps the understatement of the century. Things had gone… perfectly. He’d shown up at Prompto’s apartment early - a nervous wreck, feeling completely underprepared - only to find his friend, his _gorgeous_ friend, he might add, looking amazing in dark jeans and a shirt that had shown off his slender, runner’s build. He’d been afraid that he’d make an utter fool of himself, he was so flustered, but somehow, he managed to drive them to the restaurant he’d selected - which, incidentally, Prompto had loved.

Noctis had calmed down a bit after the waiter brought them breadsticks and wine, if only because he had something to do with his hands. And maybe he could give a little credit to the alcohol for loosening him up a bit. The conversation had certainly flowed smoother once he’d gotten a glass into his system.

They had ordered pasta and salads and split the dishes between them, so they could taste more of what the restaurant had to offer. It had been delicious, and he and Prompto had eaten every bit of it they could. They’d even split a tiramisu afterwards, though to be honest, Noctis had probably eaten more of that than Prompto had.

But even better than the food and atmosphere had been the conversation. Noctis hadn’t been sure what to talk about - he and Prompto already knew everything there was to know about each other. They didn’t have to go through the normal list of first date topics. He had feared the conversation might devolve into nothing more than their everyday banter. To his surprise, it hadn’t. It been… more intimate, more relaxed. More pointedly suggestive, too.

_“Is that all you have to say?”_

Noctis frowned. “Course not, Specs,” he replied.

_“Then, please, elaborate.”_

“I was early.”

_“You’re joking.”_

“Hey, I can be on time when I want to,” Noctis protested.

_“Mmm, yes, I suppose - you can be on time for things if you actually have a desire to go to them in the first place.”_

“Exactly. So, like I said, I was early. But Prompto was ready anyways, so we headed out. He looked… nice.”

_“One generally does for a date.”_

“Do you wanna hear about this, or not? Because I can go. I have things to do.”

_“Hmph. Like you’d ever give up even a minute of your lunch break.”_

Ignis had him there.

“I took him to Mancini’s for dinner.”

_“Oh, very nice.”_

“Prompto loved it.” Noctis smiled, fondly remembering how Prompto’s eyes had widened at the large menu, how he’d taken delight in all the various types of pasta.

“Dude, I don’t even know what half of these shapes are!” he had exclaimed, pointing to a picture of a bowl of cavatappi pasta in a delicate tomato cream sauce.

“So try ‘em out,” Noctis had replied.

“It’d take me a week to work through all of them,” Prompto had laughed.

Noctis had shrugged at that. “So we’ll come back,” he said. “Not the next date, but later.”

“Yeah,” Prompto said replied, his eyes sparkling at the mention of another date. “I’d like that.”

_“-I’ve always found Portofino’s marsala sauce a bit heavy, for my tastes. You’ll have to let me know how Mancini’s compares.”_

Noctis realized then that he’d lost track of his conversation with Ignis, too caught up in his memories to notice how the other was going on about Italian food. “I didn’t have anything with marsala sauce,” he said.

_“No? Hmm. Well, perhaps I'll just have to visit on my own then.”_

“Tell Gladio to take you there,” Noctis said, smirking.

There was silence on the line for a moment.

_“How do you know Gladio’s taking me on a date?”_

Noctis blinked. Wait… what?

“Hold on a minute,” he said, sitting up a little straighter in his chair. “You… you’re _actually_ going on a date with Gladio?”

_“Of course I am, and I'm very curious to know how you found out about it.”_

“Specs, I was just joking,” Noctis said.

_“...ah. I see. My mistake.”_

“Oh no, you aren’t getting off that easily.” Noctis grinned. “So, he finally asked you out, huh?”

There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. _“More or less.”_

It was an answer, albeit incredibly vague. “You said yes, right?”

_“I did.”_

“So get him to take you to Mancini’s. You can try the sauce out for yourself.”

_“I’m not going to copy your date, Noct.”_

“How is that copying?”

“ _You just took Prompto there. I refuse to suggest that Gladio take me to the same place.”_

Noctis sighed. “Who cares?” he asked. “It’s a good restaurant.”

_“...I will see.”_

“Yeah, don't let Gladio pick the restaurant. Otherwise, you’ll end up at some random steakhouse or another.”

“ _Depending upon the steakhouse, that isn’t entirely unsuitable.”_

“Trust me, Specs. You pick the restaurant.”

“Ah-hem.”

Noctis wheeled his chair around and looked up, surprised. Cor Leonis, his father’s assistant, was standing in the doorway of his office, a serious look on his face. Though that wasn’t necessarily a cause for concern - Cor always looked serious.

“Your father would like to speak with you, when you have a moment.”

Noctis nodded. “Hey, Ignis? I’m gonna have to go. Dad wants to talk to me.”

“ _Ah. I won’t keep you then. Please, give my regards to Regis.”_

Noctis snorted at his friend’s formality as he rose to his feet. “Specs, you’ve known Dad for almost a decade now. You can just say ‘hi’ - none of this ‘regards’ stuff.”

_“How are the two any different?”_

Noctis made sure he’d locked his computer and then picked up his keys before moving to follow Cor down the hall. “Regards is so… stiff,” he said, closing the door to his office. “Hi is just hi.”

Ignis snorted. “ _If you say so.”_

“Bye, Ignis.”

“ _Good-bye.”_

Noctis ended the call and pocketed his phone. Cor shot him a sideways glance. “That Scientia?” he guessed, knowing Ignis from the few times they'd met at the Caelum manor.

“Yeah,” Noctis replied. “Wanted to ask me something.” Cor didn’t pry any further. He never did. “So, did Dad say what he wanted to talk about?”

“Business trip, I think. There’s a conference in Chicago in a few weeks. He wants to attend. Pretty sure he wants you to go with him.”

That surprised Noctis. His father wasn’t an old man, but his joints had gone bad early, and he had difficulty traveling from place to place. Normally, he sent his business executives to conferences in his stead, videoing in on meetings when his presence was absolutely necessary. That he had chosen to attend a conference on his own was to be noted, and Chicago wasn’t close, either. Was that why he wanted Noctis to go with him? To help him out?

“What’s the conference about?”

“Something about international cooperation at the corporate level,” Cor replied. He sounded completely uninterested - which, Noctis figured, he probably was. Unlike his father, Cor wasn’t the type of person who liked sitting around and talking about policy; he was much more of a doer than a debater. When he went to conferences, it was to make connections and strike deals. Not sit in a room talking for hours about hypothetical business situations.

“Fun.”

Cor snorted. “Oh, it’ll be riveting, I’m sure.”

They had reached the door to his father’s office suite now, and Cor turned aside to let Noctis enter the room.

“You’re not coming in with me?” Noctis asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Hell no,” was the firm reply. “I go in there, your dad’ll make me go to Chicago too. That’s the last thing I want.”

Noctis snorted at that. It was probably true. He waved a farewell to his coworker, watching as the taller man walked back down the hall to his own office. He liked Cor - he always had. He’d known the man since he was in diapers, or so he’d been told. Apart from Clarus Amicitia, his father’s bodyguard, there was no one the head of Caelum Industries trusted more. He was smart, dedicated, and absolutely ruthless when it came to the competition. He wished Cor really _was_ coming with them to Chicago; he had a way of making boring things interesting, and he always did his best to avoid the truly tedious meetings.

Now Noctis would have to go to _all_ of them, he was sure.

His dad would see to that.

* * * * *

“Chicago? That’s awesome!”

Prompto took the two bowls of popcorn out of the microwave, handing one to Noct and keeping one for himself. It was a necessity - his friend liked to smother his in butter, while Prompto preferred to keep his simple with just salt and pepper.

Noct took the bowl, sure enough, pouring an entire bowl of melted butter over the snack. “I’ve never been there,” he admitted.

“You excited then?”

“I guess,” he replied, shrugging. He stuck a hand into the bowl then, mixing the butter and popcorn around. When he pulled his fingers out, they were completely covered. For a minute, Prompto thought his friend was going to lick the butter off, but Noct seemed to think better of it, for he quickly stuck his hand under the faucet.

“So when’re you leaving?” Prompto asked as they headed into the living room.

They had decided upon a movie night for their second date - if that was what this could be called. Neither of them had been in the mood for anything more formal, but they had both wanted to see each other. Prompto had suggested his place, and Noctis had rented a film for them to watch. It was nice, Prompto had to admit - cozy, relaxed, a little less stressful…

It felt so ordinary, the sort of thing couples did all the time. The thought made him even happier than he already was.

“Couple weeks,” Noct replied, taking a seat on the couch. “It’s a week long conference, and we plan on attending days one, three, and five. Dad wants to turn the rest into a vacation.” Noctis used air quotes to frame these last two words, as if his father’s idea of a vacation was very different from his own.

“Hey, man, it could be fun! I’ve heard there’s lot to do there.”

“Like what?”

“Well, the Chicago marathon for one.”

Noctis grinned at him. “Of course it’s a running thing,” he teased.

“I’d love to do it someday,” Prompto said wistfully.

New York, Boston, Chicago, London… he’d love to do _all_ of them one day. The big races - ones where the competition was steep and the winning was sweet. But at the moment, he only had money for local races, events that were within driving distance. It was a much shorter list, and it certainly did not include Chicago.

“Yeah? When is it?”

“In a couple weeks actually!” Prompto replied. He was planning to keep track of the updates using an app on his phone. It was always so much fun, watching as the first knot of runners competed against each other, vying for the first place. They were such incredible athletes, competing in what was arguably the hardest of endurance competitions known to man. They inspired him to be better.

Noctis shot him a funny look. “...yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s… here, lemme check.” Prompto pulled out his phone, looking up the calendar. “It’s… March third.”

“That’s the same week I’ll be there.”

“Wow. What a coincidence, huh?” Prompto nudged his friend with his elbow. “I’m kinda jealous, dude! You could go see the race firsthand!”

Noctis went silent, and Prompto used the quiet to set up the movie they’d planned to watch. He fiddled with his console, popping the DVD into the slot, and then scrolled through all of the commercials and advertisements until he’d gotten to the title screen. When he turned back around to take his seat beside his friend, he saw that Noct was watching him curiously.

“What’s up?”

“I have an idea.”

“Oooh, dangerous.”

“Shut up,” Noctis huffed. His bit his lip then, as if he were about to say something quite daring. “Come to Chicago with me.”

Prompto blinked.

Surely he hadn’t heard the other right. He wanted Prompto to come with him... on his business trip? To Chicago? With his _father_? It wasn’t as if Prompto had never met the man, of course; he’d been over to the Caelum manor so many times in high school, he knew it practically as well as his own parent’s house. But that was very different from going on vacation with the Caelum’s, especially now that things were…

Well. Now that he and Noct were dating.

“Are you serious?” he asked.

“Yeah.” Noctis sounded more sure of himself when he spoke this time, not a hint of uncertainty in his voice. “It’ll be fun, and that way, you can see the race up close.” He frowned then, and Prompto had a sudden, irrational thought that maybe his friend had changed his mind. Maybe he’d thought of something else, some reason the trip wouldn’t work out. But what Noctis said next was nothing of the sort. “Hey, I know - why don’t you _run_ it?”

“What?!” Prompto yelped.

“Yeah, run it! I know you ran twenty-two miles last weekend - that means you can do twenty-six, right?”

Well, _yeah,_ he could. He could be ready for that, given a couple weeks. He was _likely_ ready now, but he’d prefer to have a few more weeks to get in some good training runs. Truth be told, it wasn’t the running aspect that concerned him. It was the competition; the competitors for the Chicago marathon would be a lot fiercer than anything he’d experienced before. Would he rise to the occasion? Or would he go out too hard and screw himself over? He’d not come up with any sort of race plan. It was something for which he _wasn’t_ prepared.  

Could he come up with something in two weeks?

He thought he could.

His heart started to race, excitement coursing through his veins. He couldn’t believe it; was this really happening? He was going to run the _Chicago freaking marathon_?!

“If it’s about the money-”

“No, that’s not it,” Prompto said quickly.

Noct frowned. “Then do you not want to?”

Prompto shook his head. “No, I do.” He smiled. “Noct, I’d _love_ to.”

His friend returned the gesture, eyes dancing with delight. “So come with me. Dad won’t mind.”

“You’re sure?”

“Course,” Noct said. “Dad’s always liked you, Prompt, you know that.”

“Yeah, but… I mean, have you told him? About us?”

Noctis’ face fell a bit. “Oh. Well, no. But I will. Actually…” He reached into a pocket and pulled out his phone. “Let me text him now.”

“ _Now_?”

“No better time,” Noctis said, already rapidly typing out a message. When he was finished, he read over the message once, and then made a show of pressing the send button before looking up at Prompto and grinning. “There. Sent. Now he knows.”

Prompto laughed a little, shaking his head. “You’re unbelievable, you know that?” he asked. “In a good way, I mean.”

“Nah, I’m nothing special.” Noctis edged a little closer then, so that the sides of their bodies were touching. Prompto had to lift his arm so that it wouldn’t be caught between them, and when he raised it into the air, Noct took advantage and snuggled in tight. “You though - you’re pretty incredible."

Prompto flushed at the compliment. “Flatterer,” he teased.

“Just telling the truth,” Noct replied. Before Prompto could say anything else, he darted in and pressed and their lips together, soft and sweet.

It wasn’t their first kiss; it wasn’t even their second. Noct had kissed him at the end of their date on Friday, keeping it simple and chaste as was tradition. But neither of them had deemed that sufficient, for Prompto had pulled him in close and demanded another - and another, and another. They had both been thoroughly breathless by the time Noct had finally pulled away, grinning at him. It had been perfect.

As was this kiss, Prompto thought, setting his popcorn to the side so he could turn towards Noct more fully.

They were all perfect - each and every one.

And he would never get enough of them.

* * * * *

“Nice place they got here.”

Ignis looked up from his menu to find Gladio’s eyes wandering about the restaurant. “Yes, it is. That was one of the reasons that I selected it,” he said.

“And the other reason?”

“A recommendation from a friend.”

Gladio grinned. “You mean it wasn’t so you could steal recipes from the chef?” he asked, pointing to the little notebook Ignis had placed at the side of his plate. “Don’t think I didn’t see you bring that out.”

Ignis pursed his lips. “It isn’t _stealing,_ ” he insisted. “I'm merely looking for inspiration.”

“I hope you find some,” the other replied, eyeing a dish of pasta a waiter was carrying out towards a table. “Everything smells amazing.” He finally opened up his menu, looking down at the selections with interest. “Everything _sounds_ amazing, too,” he added a moment later, eyes flicking back up towards Ignis. “You know what you’re getting?”

“I do.” Ignis folded his menu up and put it to the side. “Chicken scallopini.”

Gladio searched for the dish on the menu, reading over the description. After a moment, he shrugged and folded his menu up as well, placing it neatly on top of Ignis’. “Sounds good to me.”

Ignis raised his eyebrows. “You’re getting the same thing?”

“If anyone’s a good judge of food, it’s you,” Gladio replied. He grinned, reaching out to take a sip of the wine the waiter had suggested. “Unless you want me to get spaghetti and meatballs so we can do that whole 'Lady and the Tramp' thing.”

Ignis nearly choked on the bite of bread he’d taken. “Please don’t,” he gasped, eyes watering.

Naturally, the waiter came back to their table at that precise moment. Ignis motioned for Gladio to place their orders for them, too busy drinking down water to speak. He was thoroughly embarrassed, face no doubt red as a tomato from coughing.

“You alright?” Gladio asked once the server had left. “I need to come over there and pat you on the back or something?”

“You will do no such thing,” Ignis snapped. That was the absolute _last_ thing that he wanted. He had attracted enough attention as it was; he did _not_ need people thinking that Gladio needed to perform the Heimlich maneuver on him.

Gladio just shrugged, taking another sip of wine.

He shouldn’t be so harsh. Gladio was only trying to help; it wasn’t his fault that Ignis had choked. But Ignis was nervous, much more so than he’d been for a date in a long time, and he feared it was beginning to show. There was no reason for such anxiety, he reasoned, no reason to be so on edge. For heaven’s sake, they’d already seen each other _naked_. This date was practically a formality at this point in their courtship.

Still…

Having regained his composure, his eyes drifted over to Gladio, watching the other man as he dipped a piece of bread in the vinaigrette and brought it to his lips. He looked very handsome, Ignis had to admit, dressed in a pair of black pants and a dark button-down shirt. He’d pushed the sleeves up to the elbows, revealing his muscular forearms and the barest hints of his extensive tattoos. Men and women alike were shooting him covert glances when they thought Ignis wasn’t looking.

“See something you like?”

The question brought Ignis from his thoughts. Gladio was grinning at him.

“You do look very nice,” Ignis replied. “It seems other people have noticed as well.”

Gladio blinked and, with no hint of subtlety, looked around the restaurant at the other patrons. When he turned back to Ignis, his grin had softened a bit. “You think they’re lookin' at me? Iggy, they’re looking at _you.”_

Ignis blinked, surprised. He didn’t even comment when Gladio reached across the table and took his hand.

“I might look nice, but _you_ …” Gladio trailed off, shaking his head. “You look fucking fantastic.”

It wasn’t particularly flowery or poetic, but the compliment pleased Ignis just the same. “That was the goal,” he admitted, allowing himself a bit of a smile.

“Well, you succeeded.” Gladio strengthened his grip on Ignis’ hand, clasping it more firmly. Ignis allowed this, even going so far as to wrap his thumb around the other’s fingers. He liked Gladio’s hands - they were rough and warm, calloused, used, strong. They weren’t much bigger than Ignis’, but the shape of them was entirely different. He could have spent long minutes just studying them, and perhaps he would have, had Gladio not spoken up.

“So I wanna say something.”

Ignis nodded, taking a sip of wine. “Go on.”

Gladio hesitated a moment, and when he spoke, his voice was slow and thoughtful, as if he was carefully selecting each word before he said it. “I’m serious about this. About you. You and me. I know we kinda started off… hot and heavy, but I’m not in this just to get in your bed. That isn’t what I want.” He huffed out a laugh then. “Well, I _do_ want that, but that isn’t all I want.”

“You want a relationship,” Ignis guessed.

“Yeah. I like you, Ignis. I like you a lot.”

“I rather like you as well,” Ignis admitted.

“You feel it too, right? This… thing we have.”

“Thing?” Ignis repeated, lips curling into a smirk. “I would call it chemistry, but yes, I feel it.”

“Whatever you wanna call it,” Gladio replied. “My point is, it’s there. I feel it, you feel it. Hell, Ignis, I…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “I have _never_ felt like this about someone I barely know.”

“It’s maddening,” Ignis agreed.

“I don’t get it. I don’t understand it. I've only known you, what, a few weeks now?"

"And it seems as though we've known each other for years."

"Yeah. Yeah, exactly." Gladio eyed him curiously. "This ever happened to you before? With someone else?"

Ignis thought about that for a moment. "No," he said finally. "To be honest, I haven't. Every other person I've been with, every other relationship I've had, has been decidedly... different from this. From you."

"I hope that's a good different."

"It most assuredly is." 

That seemed to make Gladio very happy, if the gleam in his eyes was an indication. "I shouldn't fight it, right? If all the signs are pointin' to go, I shouldn't stop. I-”

“You should keep on." Ignis nodded. "I know exactly how you feel.”

“Yeah?”

“I do - because it's precisely the same way that I feel.”

Gladio gave his hand a little squeeze. “Good to hear.”

“Especially the part about getting into bed.”

“Oh yeah?” Gladio raised an eyebrow at that, smile taking on a wolfish aspect. “So after this, you want-”

“Patience, Gladio,” Ignis chided, taking pleasure in the slightly crestfallen look his words elicited. “It’s only our first date, after all.”

“Damn tease.”

“You like this damn tease.”

Gladio eyed him. “Yeah. Guess I did just admit that.”

“Good things come to those who wait.”

“Bullshit. Good things come to those who do the shit to get them. That’s how I got you, after all.”

Ignis laughed outright at that.

For once, he had no comeback.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the Chicago marathon is totally in late fall. But I needed it to be in March. For plot reasons *shrugs*
> 
> Thanks for reading! Feedback is much loved and appreciated :)


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